Harry Potter 1. Chapter 1

_**AN: So, here goes my first try at fanfiction. I will ask for reviews but warn everybody: I won't change plot elements even if I admit they don't make sense, mostly because a lot is already written and I don't have the willpower to rework it all. However, I'm not the asshole you think I am after reading this sentence, so I'll still try to make thing better as it goes on.**_

**_On another note, this is the prologue, and it might send a wrong wave, so I'll say it: things get better after that. The next will be chapter 2 just so it doesn't clash with the chapter selector and drive everyone crazy._**

**_Of course, I don't own any of Harry Potter, not a single hair, so all rights belong to Rowling, etc._**

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**Too Young to Die.**

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**Prologue/Chapter 1.**

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* * *

"Harry?"

"Natasha?"

"Why do mom and dad hate us?"

_I should lie to her. I should tell her that's wrong and our parents like us but are just bad at showing it._

But I couldn't. _I can't and I won't lie to her._ There was no use in denying it at this point, anyway.

"I don't know Natasha, I really don't." I slipped my arms around her and hugged her, this was going to be one of the hard nights.

While I felt her starting to sob in my shirt, her tiny body shrinking in my grasp, I remembered my own revelation about my parents.

No, about Lily and James.

I had been five, three years and a few months ago, when the Potter family had gone to the Quidditch cup hosted in France. Along with the memories of that particular time of my life immediately came back the anger, the hatred I've harbored all my life for Lily and James, tearing through the polite mask I usually wore since I had understood that crying and yelling would only make things worse.

* * *

The sky was clear of clouds and the sun shone over the crowd like dragon fire in a pitch-black cave. It was a summer day as summerish as they get, way too hot and way too moist, without more than a breath worth of wind.

The enchanted corridors and pathways blew as much chill air as they could but even professional enchantments like these had a hard time countering ten thousand excited witches and wizards shouting and sweating profusely. Like those numerous people, we were eagerly waiting in the seats for the pre-match show to begin.

Natasha was crying and wiggling around in my mom's arms, Dad was talking to Zach and I had a glass of pumpkin juice. Broom riders flew all over the place, writing advertisements in the sky with magical smoke, or shouting with a _sonorus _on, some were chased by the security, obviously not being allowed to be in the sky.

_This is the best day of my life. _I though, amazed by everything I could lay my eyes upon.

There were so many people outside of the house, so many things to see, to hear and to smell. The shopkeeper even asked me if I wanted something when my parents bought my brother an ice cream. Just like that, I got a glass of juice.

_What a wonderful day. _

The juice was making me want to go to the loo, but I couldn't go alone. "The match will begin in thirty minutes, thirty minutes" announced the loud voice in the amphitheater while a huge ferret-faced woman flew over me on her flying carpet, an omnicular vendor from what I could see.

_Thirty minutes? I should go to the toilet now so we don't miss a single second of the match._

"Dad?" I shouted it once again to really get his attention, "Dad?"

"Harry I am telling one of my Quidditch adventures to my son, can't it wait?"_ he looks mad at me. I shouldn't have interrupted him like that._

"I need to go to the loo."

"He has a point, honey. Better use the loo while we have the time. Zachary, do you need to go to the loo? It's now or never." insisted Lily, still busy manipulating my sister.

_Zachary isn't very smart sometimes, he didn't even listen to mom before saying no. _For him, right at this moment, nothing mattered more than the pre-match show on the pitch, consisting mostly of a band playing a song louder than all the mess in the sky above them, which was a feat in itself.

Dad looked like he forgot about my request, he was back to telling his story to Zachary who was obviously not listening_._

"Mum, can you bring me to the loo?" I really needed to go now.

"James, take Harry to the loo before its starts."

"Alright alright, I'll take care of it!"

We walked for a good fifteen minutes until we finally found the toilets. The voice called for the spectators to get ready, the match was to begin in ten minutes.

I got in the loo and did my business as fast as I could, not noticing any of the fancy moving advertisements cleverly carved in the walls at eye level. _I really don't want to give Dad another reason to scold me_. I quickly rinsed my hands and got out of the toilets, the match hadn't started yet.

"Dad?"_ where is he? _

I looked around and called again.

* * *

It was the day that really opened my eyes on Lily and James.

As far as I could remember I had always felt like I was a disappointment to my parents, like I didn't belong in this family. My parents rarely paid attention to me and it was more often than not to give an order, I felt like it was my fault. I felt like I was a bad child.

It was all about Zachary, the Boy-Who-Lived, the slayer of the Dark Lord, the Survivor.

He was the good boy. He was nice, his parents loved him more than anything and he loved them back. Not to mention he was undoubtedly made of light magic, as he survived the killing curse itself.

It took this special moment in my life to finally understand a crucial detail.

I hadn't done anything wrong. I wasn't a disgrace. My parents hated me for no reason at all.

Ten minutes left until the start of the match, a mere five minutes waiting for me to finish. He couldn't wait. He left me there, went back to the Potters. And nobody wondered where I had gone.

I had spent the entire match crying in the toilets because I couldn't find my way back on my own through this dense crowd of adult wizards, and the only thing that saved me from Merlin knows what could have happened was that witch that found me crying and brought me back after the match. She was shocked at Lily and James's reaction. "Oh my god I forgot, thank you so much". He forgot.

This day I had started hating them back.

I hated them for how they behaved, ignoring two of their children and giving their full attention only to Zachary, I hated them for not giving a chance to Natasha and I hated them for keeping us locked inside.

The Potter family had retired from the wizarding world after He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was vanquished. Zachary Potter had become more famous than Albus Dumbeldore himself, having survived an Avada Kedavra fired at point blank by one of the most powerful wizards in the world. This little tale made its way so fast across the globe, James and Lily had only one thing to do to preserve their son's healthiness - retreat from the wizarding world in a heavily warded house and raise him in a safe and closed environment.

And that is what they did. They raised Zachary.

Natasha and I, well, that's a whole different story. While I'm Zachary's twin, she is two years younger than us. And as much as I hate even thinking about it, it is a fact that Lily and James paid even less attention to her than to me.

I soon took it as my duty to take care of her. When we were really young, we were always together. Drawing, playing, eating, sleeping. She hated sleeping alone and I had to admit I slept better when she was here. Sometimes I wonder whether the fact that I was here for her influenced Lily and James into taking even less care of her. But I doubt they ever noticed how much they abandoned us. They only had eyes for Zachary.

Thinking once again about our shitty situation made my blood boil. My arms were shaking, I didn't notice the tears had begun to pour. Natasha was finally asleep.

_I am her protector. I am her guardian_._ I am the only family she has and she is the only family I have_. I didn't remember when I took this decision but I felt like it's been written in my mind since the very beginning of my existence.

As her elder by two years, I knew how she felt. I knew how unfair it sounded. How awful it was to see Zachary get a kiss every evening before going to bed when her parents didn't even stop to tell her good night.

So I helped her, I told her good night, I kissed her before she went to bed. I was here when she wanted to cry and I was here when she wanted to laugh. I took the blame for her mistakes when I could and I made sure she ate well. I raised her.

Natasha never succeeded in distancing herself like I was able to do, taking it and keeping it inside. I guess the two extra years played their role here. _But no matter, I'll teach her. She'll be alright._ She was my only reason to continue after all. I would have run away long ago if it wasn't for her.

Sometimes I wondered if I should have run away with her. The dream goes well, we escape, we find some place and we live happily far away from here. But then reality kicks the door and rapes everything in the dream shack.

_I don't even have wand after all..._ There were too much impossibilities to actually consider it. Money, food, laws, magic, everything was against us.

Slowly, I was falling asleep too. Only her sweet and warm presence prevented my dreams from starting with a bloody scene of me ripping Lily's eyes out of their sockets and setting them on my bed table to force her to look at me and Nat. When she's with me, I can finally dream. A beautiful mountain. The snow is shining like it is under the divine light of a god descending from the skies. I'm falling asleep.

* * *

"Zachary hurry up, we're going to miss it." called James from the living room.

Zachary's eleventh birthday was in two months. As was mine but who remembers that, anyway?

Being eleven was the most special age in our world. We were going to Hogwarts in two months. _Finally. How many times did I read "Hogwarts Stories" to Natasha? How many times did I tell her how Hogwarts was our exit, our chance to finally get away from this "family"? _Every time we talked about it she had these sparkles in her eyes.

This hope I could read on her face was the same that had fuelled me those last months. Finally, I'll be at Hogwarts, far away from Lily and James, hopefully in a different house than Zachary. _Finally I will be able to live._

Natasha still had two years to wait_. It will be hard but she changed a lot, she'll be alright. I'll wait for her at Hogwarts._

I knocked on her door.

"You ready, princess? I doubt James is going to wait for us."

"I still don't get how we got a ticket in the first place" she laughed while opening the door.

It was indeed surprising, when James and Lily announced to Zachary that they were going to see dragons for his birthday, I never expected Natasha or me to be included in the trip. But it wasn't the first time such thing happened, sometimes James and Lily simply surprised us.

"Let's try to not over think it and just enjoy the show, okay?"_After all, if they wanted to get rid of us, they had countless opportunities to do so before._

"You get prettier everyday" I smiled to her. She was wearing the necklace I gifted her on her eighth birthday six month ago. Lily and James had forgotten it. It was the first time they ever forgot something this important. Even if the gifts were very few -one at each occurrence actually- and rather forgettable, they had never forgot a birthday until then. _I don't want to remember this day. At least she loved my gift, she often wear it. _

A blue opal, like her eyes. Her eye colour always made me wish she wasn't actually Lily's daughter and she would eventually find her real mother.

_For me there's no escape though, eyes even greener than Lily's, not a snowball's chance in hell._

The thought brought a grin on my face, I had polished my dark humour well over the years, this kind of thoughts would probably have made me angry a couple years sooner.

Eight years in this place and you matured enough to at least take your apparating lessons, in my opinion. The difference between Natasha and Zachary was enough proof. I wanted to mark this year as the year she had become a young lady and not a kid anymore, hence the jewel.

"Well, I do try. If I'm pretty enough, maybe an Indian slave merchant will take me away from mum." She looked perfectly serious, which was a bit weird on such a young face.

_Damn she learns quick. I may be creating a monster. _I would have liked to take all the credit for her dark humour capacities but she was actually some kind of a natural.

"Being traded as a slave sounds better than being here to you? I feel sort of rejected." I told her, trying to actually look rejected even while smiling.

She looked at me with her eyes wet. I paused in confusion. _Is she playing with me or did I really fuck up and made her cry, somehow?_

"Except you're gone in two months", she started sobbing, "...all alone in here with only mum and dad to ignore me and nobody to take care of me..."

_I guess I did fuck up._

I sighed, "You've really become a princess haven't you. What happened to the strong and independent young lady I've lived with?" _a little cheek always cheer her up._

"Oh shut it!" she leaned into me, hugging me like it was my departure to the eternal land of the elves or something.

As I hugged her I did my best to engrave her perfume and the feeling of her touch in my mind. _Whatever happens in Hogwarts, I won't forget her._

"I'll miss you so much." I whispered in her hair in a spurt of sincerity. "But we still got two months together so chill out. Now let's go, I see The Survivor coming out of his lair." I sniggered, eyeing our brother walking toward us.

His hair were perfectly done, probably by Lily. He looked like a perfectly balanced mix between Lily and James, he had the overall James face but rounded up to Lily's softer features. His hair were dark brown, with a shiny red tone to it. His eyes were James' eyes, a greyish brown. He was the same height as me and that was about the only resemblance. I had James' face but even squarer, without any trace of Lily in it except for the eyes. I hated those eyes. My hair was darker than black and always messy. I didn't want it otherwise anyway, it served the purpose of making my face look a bit less noble and Potter-ish. Indeed, I looked frighteningly like some of the old Potter paintings, only younger.

Zach looked at us. "What are you two up to this time? I'll tell mum and dad next time you call me like that."

Zachary wasn't mean to us. While he was a god among ants, he sometimes looked jealous of the relationship between me and our sister. The god wanted to play with the ants. Often he would join us when we were drawing or playing in the garden, but it was like Lily and James couldn't stand letting him "alone" with us for more than a couple minutes and had to entertain him themselves.

He suffered from it as well, but any comments he had made about it to Lily and James were forgotten as quickly as anything concerning us.

"Zachary, are you ready yet?" James cut my thoughts, calling from down the stairs.

Without any more comments we got downstairs, Zachary first, almost jumping with the sudden excitement that filled him when he heard James.

Once in the living room, everyone grabbed the letter portkey and waited for the clock's biggest needle to finish its turn. Zachary couldn't stop blabbering about the dragons and how awesome it was going to be, I could see he was getting Natasha excited. I was getting really agitated too, after having read the whole library at least once on my own and a second time with Natasha, I knew enough about the convention to know that it was going to be a blast.

The place we were going was in reality much more than just a dragon show. The Divandian Goods Convention was a very old tradition in the wizarding world, nobody really remembered how it started and where did the name Divandian come from but now it was some sort of huge worldwide known wizarding marketplace. Everything important and magical had its place here, be it a potion master showing his last brews or a goblin weaponsmith exhibiting his last enchanted daggers, this convention was the place to be during these two weeks once every eight years.

One of the usually most waited shows was the Zalodieck's Dragon Show, an art passed down the Zalodieck family since 1777, renowned for the majesty of the dragons and their amazing stunts.

Tick. It was two o'clock. _Portugal, here I come._ The portkey activated, making the letter a conduit for such a huge amount of magic the enchanted piece of paper started burning as my vision twisted. After a few seconds of having my body forced through time and space, I fell on the ground like a soulless piece of cloth. I had used portkeys only twice in my life and I could tell I was not about to reiterate for the pleasure of it. Zachary had fallen headfirst and still had grass on his lips but the excitement in his eyes overrode any other command his brain could have sent.

While I helped Natasha up, I gazed upon the spectacle before our eyes.

_Holy mole from hell, well if I was looking for a place to run away to..._

Maybe a hundred yards from us stood a city made of lights and colours, the buildings (or were they just stands?) all had different shapes, some taller, some wider and some even changing shape as I processed this. A building looked wide enough to contain three time our house while a bunch of little buildings around it looked too little to even handle more than a mouse. The streets were crowded with witches, wizards, magical creatures, half-breeds and others. Countless things were flying in the sky through the columns of coloured smoke and light rays. I could spot a silver train slithering between the buildings without any trace of pattern, like a giant snake trying to catch a fly, at a speed defying any top class racing broom.

The weather wasn't that great anywhere else but important meteorological wards must have been set all over the place because there was a huge hole in the grey clouds just over the temporary town, making a nice light blue ring in the sky and letting the sun feed his rays to everyone.

"This is the most beautiful thing ever." muttered Natasha like it was a fact. But I couldn't really argue there, this had to be the most beautiful thing ever.

As we followed the lead of James an Lily toward the entry, we discovered more and more amazing things, every yard we walked came with a bunch of unseen, crazy things.

"Look! Those have to be vampires!" a group of vampires were walking toward the convention from our left, black clothes and white skin, dark jewels and swordsmen bodyguards.

They walked like kings, like in old stories. The lesser demons didn't usually show themselves in such crowded areas, that showed how much this place was important.

"Oh my god harry, I think this is an unicorn" she yelled the second she caught a glimpse of the majestic creature in a street, a white so pure my eyes caught it too, even so far away.

Finally, we got to the entry, and used the VIP line, which was empty at the moment. Of course Lord Potter was not to use the common line and it seemed to make James happy to use his lord status for once, since they would pass unnoticed in such a big and amazing place anyway there was no use in using false names.

Once inside, we made a bit of walking around without a real purpose, trying to watch and hear everything around us.

There was no order of things, all merchants and inventors were stacked without any sort of order, from the famous amulet craftswoman from Tibet who was quietly waiting for potential customers to come and ask about her products to the big moustached "gargoyle-cutting" weapon seller shouting over the crowd the merits of his swords and war axes, there was too much to see, my mind couldn't jump from a stand to a totally unrelated other stand so quickly without releasing a unhealthy dose of natural tranquillizer in my brain.

We came to a pause on a bench after maybe half an hour of it. My head was numb and I could even feel my magic vibrating with all of the magic this place was saturated with.

While Lily and James had told a number of things to Zachary during the walk, Nat and me were content enough with trying to see everything at the same time and we didn't talk at all.

"So, what do you think of all of this? If Hogwarts is half this crazy, I might die from excitement." I asked.

"I can't believe there are so much things!" she said enthusiastically, whipping her head to me, "I've never even heard about a Splinch-Retreiver! Or about the curse of the Ottoman Bat! And how come there are so many enchantments on brooms like the optimized water redistribution one they showed off at Nimbus' stand, that thing was unbelievable!" at this point she stopped looking at me and was staring in the air in front of her, making motions with her hands like she was explaining me how to wrestle with a wild cat, "Can you believe they actually had to enchant each twig according to its density before they came up with this arithmetic manipulation about-"

I couldn't help but grin at her enthusiasm. _I knew she would love this place. This is what she deserves, to be happy._ It was one of the rare moments her smile was a true, happy one.

"Yeah I watched that too but I'll be honest it was way beyond me, I mean, when he got to the part where he presented this prototype of broom where the twigs are connected to the body by microscopic golden lines, I couldn't follow anymore."

I was about to precise why this prototype thing was way too crazy for my comprehension of magic and brooms when Zach cut me by standing from the bench and turning to my parents.

"Okay, now the dragons!" It was a command more than anything. "We watched things and... stuff enough, now it's time for the dragons."

Lily smiled at him like he just got transfigured into a cute little baby seal.

"Don't worry we will see the dragons, the Zalodieck show is in about half an hour we'll just drop by the Potions Master Thompson's stand and then we'll get to the dragons."

It was clear to everybody that Lily wasn't about to let go this potion thing since potions experimentation was her second passion after her son, but James made it even clearer to Zach by making an exaggerated motion behind Lily meaning something along the lines of "don't even think about making a scene or she'll become real scary and we'll end up at the potion stand anyway". My brother obviously got the message and let out a weak "okay".

Ten minutes later we were at Thompson's stand, observing potions and the descriptions of what they were. Lily made a beeline to Thompson himself and greeted him as a potions master herself, they soon launched into a potions masters only conversation.

I walked to a random phial and read the paper standing beside it.

**_The Myrkviôrian Concoction – To be taken by oral way. Makes the forces of nature and more precisely of the forest (plants, animals, magical beings) more keen to protect or to at least not hurt one. Invented in year 1991 by J. . Can be coupled with the Draught of the Faunal Leader and/or Druidic Runes to gain better control on the force of the forest. Duration 2 hours for 4oz on a average 40 years old wizard._**

The different potions sounded more or less useful but they all sounded like heavy stuff, this Thompson guy was no second zone potion master, I could understand why Lily wanted to meet him so much. He wasn't excessively old by wizard's standards, maybe around eighty but it was difficult to say. His face was long and beardy, he wore a cyan robe and had a little phial filled with green stuff on a silver chain around his neck.

While he was talking with Lily I caught some sentences.

"... harvested moondust with a fellow Egyptian wizard, very dangerous stuff, the magical backlash would be incredible ..." he then pointed a barrel on his left, "... warded by the chief warder himself but he didn't find the time so I did it myself but I'm no warder ..." I stopped trying to listen because I didn't even know about moondust and I really couldn't see how would one harvest anything from the moon.

I went over to Natasha who was at the moment eying a phial containing a brew about as black and deep as space.

**_The Shadow Feeding_**_**Potion - STILL UNDER EXPERIMENTATIONS – VERY DANGEROUS – To be taken by oral way. Gives the user a new sense called shadow sense. Enables the user to glean information from shadow and in a measure to control shadows. Developed in year 1985 by J. and "The Salamander". However the information are still very hard to understand for the wizard brain. Risks of death by brain shut down in response of foreign information. Duration an hour for 4oz on an average 40 years old wizard.**_

"Holy fudge Nat, what the hell did you find?" I was half-joking half-shocked at what I had just read.

"I know right, this is incredible, can you even believe that." she muttered under her breath as if the potion would force itself down her throat if she talked aloud.

"In my mind state right now, I would believe anything." I shrugged, laughing, "I even heard them talking about moondust, seriously, moondust!".

"Dad, we're gonna miss the dragons if we don't hurry" Zach, however, had found absolutely no interest in the potion stand and was impatiently looking at his wristwatch every five minutes, moaning about missing the dragons.

This is when it happened.

"The dragons? Kid if you're talking about the Zalodieck show, I'm sorry but it's about to be over, it started an hour early." interrupted a man dressed in yellow with a sorry smile on his face, looking down at Zach.

Natasha and me shared a look.

"Merlin save us from the Warrior of Light's wrath..."

James immediately sensed the issue and flicked his head toward Zach and the yellow man, shouting louder than necessary "YOU WHAT?".

Zachary was still processing the piece of information he just received and looked like his brain had been disconnected. _Maybe he just took a sip of that shadow sense brew, now that would be fun._

I wanted to see the dragons too but Zach making a scene was not bad either, maybe he'll even let a bit of accidental magic out.

"I was told it was a problem with the management of the arena, they had to move earlier to let the time for the enchanters to take the heat of the dragons off before the broom racers went to race, and they didn't take that into account in the first place, nasty story for such a huge event." he tutted and finished "But the change has been announced yesterday and it's been written everywhere, you shouldn't have missed it. At any rate, you can get the ticket refunded."

Zach was white, James took the yellow wizard by the robes and brought his face against his in a menacing motion, he whispered loud enough to be heard by the whole family now watching "You better be joking about this, tell me you're joking".

Lily tapped his shoulder and pointed to a big piece of paper pasted on a wall that read "The Zalodieck Dragon Show will start at 13 o'clock on the Saturday 30 June ! Be here or miss the INCREDIBLE dragon stunts. With the Dragon Star Norbury Flight and..."

I had read enough to know that we were an hour late.

I hid my grin as well as I could, I always appreciated when things didn't go well for the spoiled Survivor. _It tastes like revenge somehow..._

"I...I saw it but I didn't read it since we already knew the hours I never thought they would change it..." Lily squeaked in a little voice not looking at Zachary into the eyes.

To be fair, the big green dragon moving around and spewing out circles of fire on the picture really didn't help seeing the little text saying "13 o'clock" underneath.

James let go the yellow wizard and briefly apologized for his rudeness, he then looked at Zach who, after going through all the angry expressions his face could make settled on an horrified and determined face.

"I want to see the dragons" he declared quietly with his I-know-what-I-want-even-if-I-know-I-can't-have-it face as tight as the atmosphere around us.

_And there we go, spoiled Zachy is about to lay the smackdown, sit comfortably and crack your butterbeer open ladies and gentlemen. _I prepared myself to have a great time making commentaries in my head.

"I am sorry, son, but we'll have to wait the next show, I'll pay a visit to this Zalodieck guy and I'll get you the best seat." tried James, sounding like he was negotiating for the life of his wife.

Unfortunately it wasn't very far from that.

It all happened in three seconds, maybe more, maybe less. Time itself seemed to bend at this moment. Zachary's ten years old face broke into a painting of anger and tears, he shouted harder than he ever shouted "I. Want. DRAGONS!" and his magic leashed out of him, forming a huge wave of white energy around his body which spread out, covering everything with a thin layer of frost.

_And our champion opens with a - _I stopped my comments the moment I saw the white magic flashing from him, too shocked to continue.

The bout of anger fueled accidental magic made its way over the potions phials in less than half a second, crushing most of them, and hit a wooden barrel.

A second before the white energy reached the barrel's wood, a layer of magic flared bright yellow around it and shattered, then Thompson roared "OH SHIT GET AWAY" and vanished in a twirl of blue robe.

Then everything went to hell.

There was a huge explosion of purple, white and grey from the barrel, streams of pure magic could be felt racing out of the explosion while the sudden heat melted the ice and evaporated it too fast for our skin to even register it, the blast of the explosion was rapidly closing in the distance between the disintegrated barrel and the Potter family.

Lily and James, having fought and survived the war, were very fast drawers, that is why I heard two _Contego Leucaspis_, a very advanced and powerful mage level shield charm being shouted just before the impact.

Natasha was close to me and almost succeeded in jumping in my arms when the blast hit us both at the same time.

The last thing I saw was Natasha looking frightened at me, arms opened toward me, while Zachary, looking equally horrified and panic-struck, was protected by a pair of thick white magical shields.

Then I felt my heart imploding and every part of my magic crushed by the sheer power of the magic I've been doused with.

As I fell into the bottomless pit of unconsciousness, I felt nothing but two cobalt eyes looking pleadingly at me through the dark.

* * *

I couldn't open my eyes.

I couldn't move any of my muscles.

My heart was beating and my lungs were breathing, that was about all the movements in my body.

I was hearing things. Sounds, noise. Nothing accurate, whispers and wind, motions and echo.

After a while I noticed that except for the mechanical beating of my heart, I couldn't even feel anything.

I didn't know where I was and if I was actually conscious, in front of me, in the pitch-black cave of my own mind, I saw silhouettes being drawn who vanished as quickly as they went. I saw grey and black landscapes starting to take form before being erased and starting again.

I was dreaming. Sort of. _But it ain't a dream if you're aware it's a dream, right ?_

_Also, dreams are meant to be in colours aren't they ?_

And suddenly, it hit me. It all came back, the dragon show, the white energy, the explosion and Natasha.

She was probably in the same predicament as me right now, somewhere between dead and alive, conscious and dreaming.

_Or maybe worst._

As my terror overcame me, I felt something I didn't feel before. My magic was with me. Invisible but present, it was like a ball of warmth inside me. But I could tell it was fucked up, the thing was uncontrollable, totally chaotic.

_Maybe it's not my magic but my fear. They are linked anyway If I believe what I've read._

_Oh well, something's going to wake me up eventually, and if not..._

_Might as well dream in the meantime._

* * *

An eternity. Or maybe two.

Waking up was the hardest thing ever. Actually I just couldn't, it was forced on me.

All my senses came back in an explosion of pain and colours. I screeched like a banshee, I puked and cried at the same time, but not for long, a couple of muscular arms pinned me back against something and held my mouth open to force a liquid thought it.

The taste was neither good or bad, it was the first thing I had drunk in a thousand lifetimes, I had no element of comparison. I drank the liquid eagerly, hoping that it could help me against the unbearable pain. I felt it flooding my throat, flowing in my body, numbing my pain, calming my heat and clearing my mind.

After a few minutes of panting and a full pitcher of cold water, I was finally back.

_Alive and kicking._

I looked up at the muscular arms' owner who handled me during this little resurrection. St Mungo's uniform. I never saw it before but there was no mistake, the bone and wand logo, the white and green, I was in St Mungo's Hospital.

"Your parents have been warned, they're on their way, Harry. I want you to stay calm and to breath heavily." A black haired witch commanded with a smile from the other side.

"You have undergone a very hard treatment and you must rest a lot." She changed her expression to a more serious tone, "But first I need to ensure you are alright, so please answer my questions."

She grabbed a pen, flipped a page on her notebook and peered at me over her glasses.

"What is your full name?"

"Harry..." _err... Potter, that's it_ "Harry Potter"

"Middle name?"

"James" I forced myself through my memories, it came back without much effort.

"How old are you?" she asked, rising an eyebrow.

I quickly looked at my hands, they weren't bigger than I remembered.

"Ten, maybe more, you tell me."

She grinned and closed her notebook.

"You seem to have fully recovered from your coma, that is great news Harry. You are still ten years old, you were out for six weeks. A month and two weeks. I'll let you deal with your parents for anymore questions you may have, now rest." She concluded, standing up.

_Now that won't do._

"What about my sister?" I didn't even try to formulate it more cleverly. _I need to see her. Now. _"Could I see her right now?".

As the smile faded from her face and the light died in her eyes, I felt my heart sink.

"I...I shouldn't...She's...you should ask your parents about her..." she stuttered hurriedly, trying to get out of the room without looking at me.

_No. No, she must be still in her coma. Right, that must be it._

"Tell me everything" I commanded. She stopped and risked a look at me, I saw tears glowing in her eyes. _This is bad._

"She's alive, right?" The question sounded dumb and desperate but I didn't care, I felt weak and I desperately needed something to cling on.

"She..." she started sobbing softly, "She didn't make it ... she didn't survive the explosion."

The silence after those words was deafening.

I stared at her. _I can't believe her._

But I knew it wasn't a matter of belief. The witch wasn't lying. I knew the answer all along anyway.

_She's ... dead?_

My mind drifted away from reality and I fainted without noticing the room was on fire all around me.

* * *

I woke up. I was in a bed. Memories immediately came back. _Natasha. Dead. Killed in that explosion._

And then, without having even moved a finger before, I started crying. The last time I cried dated from when I was 5 or so. I needed to let it go, I needed to cry.

I couldn't have stopped the tears even if I wanted to.

I remembered her face, her perfume, like she was in the bed with me. I remembered her laugh, her shiny eyes... _Fuck, I won't believe it. I need to see it._

I got out of the bed and stood up, only to be approached by my parents and the black haired doctor. I tried absently to go around them, I had to see her, I didn't need to hear them tell me it was going to be okay.

"Harry where are you going? You need to rest, your parents are here." tried the witch with a fake smile.

"I need to see her, I won't believe she's dead until I see her." I blurted that out with more anger than planned, but I was glad I did, unleashing my anger felt good.

She looked at my parents next to her. James looked like he was back in the war, a pained and determined expression on his features and mirthless eyes, like a colonel who just lost one of his recruits in a messy battle. Lily was in tears, her face was too pale and the area around her eyes was red and swollen.

"Maybe you should say goodbye to her indeed, Mr. Potter?" the witch asked in a soft voice.

James took a heavy breath and said shortly "Very well, after you."

We got into the corridor in silence, each strode I took made my brain shake in my skull, the air I was breathing was too hot and each sound echoed endlessly in my ears. I couldn't think straight. _She can't be dead, she can't be dead. No, she can't._

We walked down the white and clean corridor until we reached a big metal door. The doctor opened it with a touch of her hand on the front panel. We entered the cold room without a sound.

We walked a bit more, toward a black bed in the back of the room. We stopped in front of it.

"Are you sure you want to do this Harry?" she asked gently, laying her hand on my shoulder. _I don't know anymore, I ... I don't..._

I nodded. She slowly removed the black sheet over Natasha's body, until I could see her quiet face resting on a black pillow. Lily sobbed a bit harder, James tightened his grip on his wife.

I stood here, watching Natasha. Her cute 8 years old serene face, eyes closed, her hair perfectly made by the nurses, she looked like a little angel, her skin was pale.

The rest of the day was a blur, I talked to no one, I ate nothing and I went to sleep when I noticed the sun went down. All my thoughts were toward Natasha. _I promised to protect her and she's dead._

I cried a lot, woke up in the middle of the night and went to sleep in the middle of the day, for a full week I was in my hospital bed being treated for post-coma shock and post-traumatic shock. I did what they told me to do without questioning anything, I swallowed all the potions and answered all the questions.

During that week I was told a number of things I barely registered through my constant numb and dreamy state.

I was told about the moondust reaction and the effect it had on magic, that I survived only because I had a strong magic and my sister didn't because she was too young to have her magic developed enough. I was told of the money we'd get from the Portugal government for having let such a disaster happen. I was told of the potion that brought me back, brewed by Lily and . I was told of many help programs that existed to help me mourn my sister. I was told that Zach and me were meant to go to Hogwarts in a week.

When Zachary had entered my room, he had burst into tears and apologized all over my sheets. At first, I wanted to tear his face apart but then I realized that as always, he wasn't to blame.

She died because James and Lily choose to raise both their shields in front of Zach, because they made this choice every second since she's born. I knew I would kill them one day, but Zach? He was just as lost as me in this family. Knowing that his anger killed his sister was enough of a punishment for him.

While I did nothing but cry internally and sleep all day, I did find some time to yell on Lily and James when they came to check on me.

"You never cared about her, you don't even know what she likes to do, what she's good at, you don't even know her favorite colour!" I had roared at them, tears flowing on my cheeks, and threw a vase at them.

Lily had cried loudly and ran out of the room while James had simply looked shocked at me, maybe realizing I was right but probably just not used to see me openly angry.

Time passed awfully slowly, I considered killing myself but choose not to for no particular reason... _Survival instinct I guess._

Then one day, James came in my room and told me I was coming home. The day after that, we went to Diagon Alley to get supplies for Hogwarts.

* * *

I don't know at what time I went out of my bed, I stayed awake and looked at the place she'd be at, dreaming her silhouette. I felt like shit, I felt like I just wanted to stay here and do nothing for the rest of my life. _Fuck Diagon Alley, fuck Hogwarts._

Eventually, James knocked at my door and spoke through it. "Harry if you're ready, we're about to go." _He actually climbed the stairs and knocked on my door. Did they finally fucking notice they have, had three kids?_

"Coming." I spat angrily._ He can go and get fucked if he think I want his fatherly love._

I had a horrible night, needless to say, half my dreams were memories of Natasha and the other half were nightmares where I kept failing at protecting her. Of course I remembered only the latter once awake.

I put some clothes on and got into the living room. Zach was looking grim, Lily was only a washed up version of the regular happy and beaming Lily and James had taken the role of the man you can count on.

"Now I know it's hard for everyone, but we need to... we need to keep on living." he explained with a cheerless voice. "We're going to buy equipment for Hogwarts and try to cheer up a bit. She wouldn't have wanted us to be miserable for your first year at Hogwarts."

_Do you actually believe that, you asswipe ? She's probably sending you all the negative waves she can from the other side. _I don't know why I didn't say it, I was probably too depressed and tired to try.

James took a handful of floo powder and threw it in the fireplace. Green fire immediately sprouted and started dancing while green sparks flew in round patterns above it. "Diagon Alley, you go first Lily." said James with a little smile.

Lily went in and muttered the destination a second before the green flames licked and swallowed her whole body. Zach went following, as did I.

I landed in the little transportation shop around the middle of Diagon Alley. Lily and Zach were standing up, waiting quietly. I stood up from the stone floor and wiped my clothes. I took two steps toward the window. Diagon Alley was at its peak of liveliness. All the parents brought their kid to buy Hogwarts stuff, all the shops made four times their usual profits, witches and wizards of all age made their way through the crowded streets, all dressed in different colours, all at a different speed. Laughter and cheerful sounds filled the whole area. _This is what she deserved, to be fucking happy._

I couldn't stop thinking about the unfairness of it all. _She shouldn't be dead, it makes no sense, why her, why her out of all people..._

Lily started reading the requirements while James verified Zachary's magical disguise. His scar was hidden by a magical amulet, he looked like any normal kid, except for the sorrowful face.

"So, we need three sets of black robes, one black pointed hat,..." we came out of the shop and proceeded to do our shopping.

As the day went on I felt more and more anger rising in me, all these happy people, all these things to enjoy, all this life made my blood boil. She would never feel this joy, she would never fall in love, she was fucking dead.

We finally got back home and I planned to go to bed immediately to cry and hit my pillow as hard as I could but my plans were derailed by James.

"Before you go to bed, please sit down. I have something to say." he started quietly. Zach and me took a seat and Lily went over James to grab his arm. I had no idea where this was going.

"Tomorrow..." he started, unsure, "tomorrow your sister will be incinerated. The funeral will be at four." he stopped here, having nothing to add and watched us.

"No." It came on its own. _No, I need to see her at least one last time. _I didn't know why but I absolutely needed to.

"I want to see her one last time before she's burned to ashes."

"Harry there is no point in-" started James softly.

"Please, one last time before she's erased from our world, I'll do anything." I begged. My choice of words seemed to have an effect on him, he looked at Lily who nodded.

"Alright, we'll all see her tonight one last time, Zachary are you coming?" it was very rare for James to listen to my demands but to actually agree, that was almost unseen. _You won't believe the effect your death had, Nat._

I laughed a bit. _Shit, that ain't funny! Too soon Harry, way too soon._

Two floo calls and a handful of floo powder later I was looking at Natasha again.

And it became clear.

As I watched her visage, countless memories came, and with them, I saw scenes of Natasha being grown up, scenes of her learning magic, scenes of her dressing up to go eat in a restaurant, things that would never happen. _But it has to happen. She must live, she deserves it. _

And while I watched her live again in my mind I decided that she would live. _No matter the cost._

"I'm your guardian, you protector, remember? I'll bring you back. " I was aware James and Lily were talking with the doctor, I went on,  
"I fucked up this time, I had no wand, I couldn't do a thing." I took her hand,

"But now I have one, now I can help you. I'll learn magic, I'll learn necromancy, I'll bring you back I fucking swear it on my magic. I'll go dark if I need to, I'll slaughter every innocent child in Britain if it's what it takes to bring you back... I'll do it princess, I swear to Merlin I'll do it."

I wiped my tears off.

"See you soon." I muttered before laying a kiss on her forehead. It was so evident I couldn't believe I lost more than a week crying in my bed.

_I'll bring her back, simple. All these tales about necromancy have to start from something real. _

_I'll bring her back._

* * *

**_AN: If anyone's interested in beta'ing, I have no idea how it works but feel free to pm me about it._**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Nothing changed, I still do not own Harry Potter. And that's probably a very good thing.**_

* * *

**.**

**Too Young to Die.**

**.**

**Chapter 2.**

**.**

* * *

I woke up early, today I was going to Hogwarts. The plan was simple but full of hazardous factors.

First step was getting sorted in Hufflepuff. That was also one of the most hazardous factors.

Being sorted in Hufflepuff offered me the discretion I needed, housemates not too curious like Ravenclaw so less likely of finding out my secrets and at the same time more likely to help me hiding my problems, Hufflepuff was known for the camaraderie between its members. Plus, nobody ever gives a second look at a Hufflepuff and I could play the weak kid always crying his sister, it would fit perfectly. Slytherin would make my project go way faster but it would create such a mess, I would be the center of attention and hiding my secret would be near impossible.

In Hufflepuff I could be forgotten by everyone.

The venturous part of this step was that I had no idea of how the sorting was done. _If it's a series of questions, I'm good. Otherwise, I'll improvise._

The second step in my scheme was to obtain James' and soon to be Zach's Invisibility cloak. Stealing it was an option but then it becomes a real problem to hide it, also I was one of the four persons who knew about its existence. _That narrows down the suspects list quite a bit._ The plan was to get it from Zach himself after he got it. I trusted myself to manipulate Zach especially after the tragedy.

The third and last step was still vague as I didn't have any clear idea of how to go about it but basically it was to get in Knockturn Alley, get knowledge on necromancy and start my little project.

This was very hazardous in itself but once in there I was sure I'd find something. Knockturn Alley was pretty huge and deep, it had multiple layers of buildings and wards. The place was so old and magically twisted it was probably impossible to map it. All kind of illegal stuff happened in Knockturn Alley, everybody knew it and the only reason Aurors never raided it was because a raid would result into a disaster, they would all get killed without a doubt. Aurors worked in Knockturn Alley but as undercover agents, some sort of law was still present, half by the ministry and half by mafias and gangs.

Money was not a problem, James went to the bank to open an account for Zach, an account linked to his one, with a monthly transfer of a few dozen galleons. The goblin saw my name on the register and proposed to do an account for me too. That plus the 30 000 galleons I got from the Portugal Magic Ministry as an apology, my project was heavily funded.

The plan wasn't much of a plan but at least I had a little list of things to do.

I felt good. I felt like I could do this. Sure, we never heard of any tangible proof of someone successfully bringing someone back, but Necromancy was a real thing. And the many legends and tales of knights calling necromancers to bring back their princess had to start from somewhere. _Ain't no smoke without fire..._

And fucking hell I was a Potter, one of Britain's oldest pureblood families, famous for producing powerful wizards. How many Potters entered History by doing things someone else couldn't do? _Edmond Jose Potter, 13th century, created the Imperius curse, Deorwynn Potter, 16th century, invented the potion of Amortentia, the most powerful love potion. _Came in my mind.

_If only James didn't sell the Potter library to the ministry, there was probably all the knowledge I need in there._

Indeed, James had sold most of the Potter library to the ministry because it contained really dark stuff and the Potter was meant to be a light family. Well at least James considered himself a light wizard. Now all these books were buried deep in the Department of Mysteries. I didn't really care until now, I just thought it was sad to sell such an old heirloom. _Now I realize it was the stupidest decision to make._

After a quick shower, I was dressing "the muggle way", it was called like that but nobody wore robes inside their house anymore, at least not the young wizards. I eyed my wand laying on the bed table -_ Cherry and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Quite temperamental. _- had said Ollivander the wand maker. It was long and thin, maybe half an inch thick, no more, like all the wands, but I could feel the power imbued in it, I could tell it wasn't about to break if I sat on it. Zach had gotten the brother of Voldemort's wand, it had created a little commotion, should have expected it.

My trunk was ready, all my robes, clothes, cauldrons, phials, books and whatnot were tucked in it since the day we came back, four days ago to be precise. As Potters, we of course got the best of Diagon Alley, top quality cauldrons, finely carved crystal phials, top notch trunks, and we got an owl each. I named my snowy owl Hedwig and Zachary named his eagle owl Barnaby.

Hedwig had become a real friend to me during these four days, I had exposed her my plans to bring my sister back and she quietly listened to me. I asked her how she liked her name and she hooted happily, I took it as a yes and I was pretty sure she in some way understood me.

Around my neck and under my shirt was Natasha's necklace I snatched up after making my promise to her. _Maybe a bit girly for me but it's all that's left of you now._

Her ashes had been spread out in the wind like the Potter tradition wanted, no bodies left, ashes free as the wind. It was something passed down the Potter line from the very start. A tombstone has been set in Godric's Hollow's graveyard, people wept, nice words were said as I contemplated the black cloud spread and vanish away. I had memories of her, and I had a few drops of her blood. I didn't need more. _I hope I don't._

I spent the morning eating a few biscuits with Hedwig and staring at the sky through my window until Zachary woke up and took his breakfast. A few minutes after, we were all ready and packed in the living room, waiting to floo at King's Cross. Everybody was quiet . I was the one who recovered the fastest about Natasha's death. _Probably because I know she'll be back one day... _

James wasn't that far behind me in terms of recovering because he displayed a bright smile and waved toward the fireplace, "Your floo is ready, sir. Ready?".

"Yeah, let's go." Zach smiled weakly and walked in the floo.

Platform nine and three quarters was huge. About five time bigger than a regular platform at King's Cross. It was only on the right side of the train, the other side was a grandiose panorama on green meadows and rocky mountains. It was nowhere near King's Cross. _Probably just a magic trick to show a fake landscape._

The flamboyant Hogwarts Express was standing still in its rails, breathing a thick white steam from a numbers of pipes and chimneys, children flooding in from all the doors and windows, like a swarm of rats invading a proud and ancient building. _I can almost hear it complaining on the lack of respect it's treated with._

We were about to enter the train when Lily stopped Zach and hugged him tightly.

"You'll send letters everyday and you'll tell me everything. Everything, understood?" she placed a kiss on his cheek, "And have fun." she finished with a little smile. She then stepped back, ignoring me. _Looks like the extra attention week is over, maybe I should kill Zach to get a couple months more..._

"And remember everything I told you about the cloak, son." added James with a grin. _Right, I need that fucking cloak._

I went into the train without waiting any longer for goodbyes and made my way to an empty compartment, carrying my trunk without difficulties. The hovering lightweight trunk wasn't the cheapest but if being James' son had one advantage, it was the money. If I had to guess the amount of money stored in the Potter vault at the moment I'd guess about a couple million galleons. _Yeah, that much._

Zach followed me and entered the compartment after me. I was about to simply ask him to get the fuck out of there when someone set a foot in the compartment and asked weakly "Err, hi, is this seat free?", pointing to a free seat.

_Orange hair, taller than us, probably a second year or a tall first year. I need to make friends and allies don't I? At the very least I must keep appearances._

"Hi, yes it is. Harry, pleased to meet you." I presented him my hand to shake. _Damn, I sound awful when I do that._

"And I'm Zachary." stated my twin while shaking his hand too.

"Ronald Weasley, just call me Ron." he then pulled his huge trunk in the compartment with much efforts, and fell on the seat, panting.

"My trunk weights a ton, how did you put yours so high?" he asked, amazed.

_Okay this is a dumb one. Or maybe he's just trying to start a conversation, let's not bad mouth too quickly._

"Our trunks are enchanted to be lighter but they go where you ask them anyway, look - Go down." explained Zach, putting his hand on the trunk. It quavered a bit before rising up a few inches to get out of the baggage hold, and gracefully made a curved motion to the floor.

The Weasley boy had watched with saucer-like eyes.

"These trunks are mad expensive..." he whispered, "Are you rich or something?"

Zach looked down, he didn't want to say his surname. Potter was a word this kid wouldn't let slip by.

"Yeah, sort of. We're almost purebloods, and you?" I admitted, turning my eyes from my brother and his sudden anxiety.

"Pureblood, but not rich." He let out weakly, clearly wanting to stop the conversation on money.

"So, what Quidditch team do you root for?"

We spent a few hours talking Quidditch and eating candy. I didn't particularly like the boy, he was a bit dense and uninteresting, but I kept going. Quidditch was an interesting subject after all. We got interrupted once by a girl who was looking for a toad but the rest of the trip was eventless. At some point Zach admitted being The-Boy-Who-Lived and we had to answer a few question from the astonished boy, after what he couldn't stop watching at the scar. Oh yeah, he was also very surprised to hear Zachary had a twin brother.

If I wondered how unnoticed Natasha's death went, I had an answer. Nobody had even heard of her.

The night fell and we slipped our robes on, then the train stopped and we got out.

The huge groundkeeper named Hagerd or something like this led us on small boats, sliding on a lake. Then we finally saw Hogwarts.

A magnificent castle with a hundreds of towers, impossible shapes, thousands of windows and lights, gargoyles on the roof borders, birds and owls all over it and its reflection on the lake's surface. It was incredible, breath-taking.

_I hope these gargoyles are fake ones, Merlin help us if one awakens. _Gargoyles were XXXXX-ranked creatures, very rare, incredibly dangerous, they were believed sentient and even intelligent, but way too wild and dangerous to approach. Their speed and strength was beyond any wizard.

We slid a bit further in a cave beneath the castle itself and accosted next to a wooden door. On the door was carved the Hogwarts coat of arms, representing the four houses with a lion, a snake, a raven and a badger. The door had hundreds of little golden lines constantly wiggling on it.

"Well that's Hogwarts fer ya, wonderful place I'm tellin ya!" concluded the half-giant before knocking strongly, making the door shake in its hinges and the golden lines retreat back to the borders with panicked wiggles like little snakes fleeing.

The door opened after a few second, revealing a stern faced witch dressed in emerald green. She surveyed the crowd of first year in front of her, eyes hard and frowning. The half giant suddenly remembered he had knocked and hurriedly proclaimed "Professor McGonagall, the first years have arrived. Kids, this is professor McGonagall, the deputy headmistress and head of the Gryffindor House." he looked like he was about to add something but McGonagall cut him with a wave of her hand.

"Thank you Hagrid, I will take the lead from here." she spoke quietly, casting her gaze over us. I sensed a number of students tensing and straighten up. _I would have guessed Ravenclaw head of house, eh. I better not end up in Gryffindor._

"As Hagrid said, I am Minerva McGonagall, deputy Headmistress and head of the Gryffindor House. You will address me as professor McGonagall and nothing else. I will not tolerate disrespect from any of you, Gryffindor or not." she stopped and smiled a bit, "Welcome to Hogwarts. As you all know already, you will soon be sorted into the house that fits you." she paused.

"Hogwarts consists of four Houses, Gryffindor, of which I am the head professor, is said to be the House of the brave, the lion and the red are its emblem. The Gryffindor dormitories are in the south section, in a tower called the Gryffindor tower."

At this point we were walking, led by McGonagall, through the castle, she was walking fast and speaking even faster. I was only half listening, only the Hufflepuff part was interesting for me and the corridor we were walking in was incredibly distracting. Paintings all over the walls commented our little squad of firsties, mocking our amazement, whispering into each other ears and laughing. _Some of these paintings must be incredibly old, a potential source of information. _Armor sets and stone statues were standing straight in each corners, holding spears, swords and halberds, like threatening guards, about to cut you in half if you break the rules. The torches on the walls produced an awful lot of orange and yellow light, reflecting on the shiny metal of the armors and golden frames of the paintings.

"Ravenclaw, with Filius Flitwick for head of House, is said to be the House of the smart and wise. The raven and the blue are its emblem. Its dormitories are at the opposite of the Gryffindor tower, in the Ravenclaw tower." _You could just say every house has its tower and be done with it._

"Hufflepuff, head of House Pomona Sprout, said to be the House of the loyal and hard working. The badger and yellow are its emblem. Its dormitories are in the east yard, next to the greenhouses." _No tower for the Hufflepuffs? I'm not complaining._

"And finally Slytherin, head of House Severus Snape," she seemed to add a small dose of disgust in her speech, a subtle difference that I was probably the only one to catch, "said to be the House of the cunning and ambitious. The snake and green are its emblem. Its dormitories are located in the dungeons, under the lake." _Yeah, Slytherin would be really too obvious._

As she ended her introduction speech, we stood before a huge wooden door on which was written in thin golden letters _Sedere manducare. Sedere ad disserendum. _No translation was offered, but McGonagall made it clear enough:

"You're about to enter the great hall to be sorted. Then we will feast and you will go to you dormitories with your housemates. I do hope you'll behave and show some dignity, you will be sorted in front of the full school staff and all the students."

At this, everybody's anxiety level rose up heavily. _So here we are, the sorting._

Ron muttered something about the test being a fight against trolls and kids around him paled. _What a bunch of idiots... _The test would be a series of short questions, I was almost sure of it, some sort of personality and/or intellectual quotient test.

Zachary approached me.

"Dad wouldn't tell me how is the sorting done. What would he say if we're not Gryffindor? What if we were sorted in Slytherin?" he asked to me apprehensively, straightening his hair with his hands.

"I don't know Zach, you'd be the perfect Slytherin, you know, the filthy rich pureblood daddy's little spoiled boy, famous all over the world and all."

He became white as a sheet and shivered.

"You know I'm not like that, I'm not arrogant, I'm not spoiled, I'll never be a Slytherin. You on the other hand..." he squinted slowly, "Maybe that's why mum and dad don't like you, you've always been strange, maybe you're a Slytherin after all..." he whispered.

_How fucking dense can you be Zach._ The massive wooden door creaked and started to open, students straightened even more if it was possible and got ready to enter the hall.

"Yeah, I'm a Slytherin, that's why they hate me. Same for Nat, we both have a Slytherin birthmark on the asscheek, you discovered the big secret, good job Sherlock." I spat angrily before entering the hall, leaving The-Boy-Who-Is-Retarded to think about that.

The great hall was as great as they get. The ceiling was more than a hundred feet high and rendered the sky in real time, stars and the moon could be seen along with dark blue clouds in the night, casting an eerie white light on the walls, illuminating the cracks and engravings, some runes could be spotted, glowing with moonlight. Torches and candles were set at around ten feet in the air and on the wall, breaking the weak starlight with fiery orange light, casting constantly moving shadows all over the place.

Four tables, around two hundred talking and laughing students at each table. Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, in that order. The staff table was set perpendicularly to these four, on a higher platform. In the middle, on a ancient throne, sat Albus Dumbledore, the current headmaster of Hogwarts. At his right was an empty smaller throne, without a doubt McGonagall's seat. About twenty professors and staff members sat at the table. I could see Flitwick, famous champion duelist, whom I knew from a book and the half giant who had led us through the lake, but I didn't know any of the other faces.

Between the staff table and the four Houses stood a small four-legged stool. An old dark grey hat had been put on it.

As our little hundred and something first years went silently to stand in a corner under the order of McGonagall, the students noticed us and started being louder and louder.

McGonagall walked to the center of the platform and stood next to the mysterious hat. She said nothing and waited. As I was starting to wonder just what the hell was going on, the hat twitched, a rip opened and it began to sing.

It sang a song depicting each House's traits but I didn't listen, my brain caught one thing - _The hat called itself the Sorting Hat! It's a mind reading hat, I'm fucked through and through! _

_Calm down, nobody said anything about mind reading, for the moment it just showed that it can talk and have some form of intelligence. Maybe it'll just ask questions. _

The other kids were laughing at the relief it was - "you just have to put a hat, thank Merlin", but I felt more uneasy by the second, I'd have to play this carefully.

McGonagall now had a roll of parchment in her hands, "When I call your name, you will sit on the stool and put the Hat on. Abbot, Hannah !" she barked.

The young blonde girl jumped and almost ran to the hat, probably fearing to be too slow for McGonagall. Once the Hat was on her head, nothing happened, not a sound. And suddenly, "Hufflepuff !". The Hufflepuff table roared with cheers and clapped loudly.

Hannah was stumbling toward the third table when I made my decision. _I need information on the sorting process, and it's the perfect way to break the ice with one of my soon to be housemate._

I pushed my way through the pack and got slightly out only to grab her arm before she was too far -"Andie, Rosaline!"- before she could wonder why she was being stopped on her journey to her House table, I quickly asked:

"I'm sorry, could you quickly tell me how did the Hat sort you? Did he ask questions? Was he reading in your mind?"

She nodded, "Yes? Yes to what? Both?" she nodded again and I let her go. _Fuck._

"Hufflepuff!"

The hat could read my mind. I was fucked, I had to think about something dumb to hide my true intentions, I had to do something but I had no idea of how this sort of thing worked.

"Arvel, Paul!"

_But the hat asks questions too. That means he listens to answers. That mean I can negotiate with it._

"Gryffindor!"

The sorting went on for at least an hour. I got a couple more reports from the students that got sorted and passed near me on their way back. They all said the same thing, mind reading and discussion with the Hat.

_Great, I'll have to try and make a two thousand years old magical artifact bend to my will. Threatening it won't work, I have nothing on it except maybe the fact that I could set it on fire. I have to either act dumb and be sorted Hufflepuff or explain my plan and hope it's nice enough to help me. _It all depended on how far it can read in my mind.

Eventually, it came.

"Potter, Harry!"

The hall hadn't been nearly as quiet since we got in. People raised from their seat to see me and soon enough, they started to whisper, "Harry Potter? Who is that? Is he related to Zachary Potter?", some talked out loud, "Is he his brother? In the same year? He sure does look like a Potter!"

I really didn't care about that right now, all I had in mind was my plan. _Do not fuck up Harry, this is the first step, do not fuck it up!_

I sat on the stool and put the Hat on my head, it went over my eyes and all sound vanished along with my vision.

"Let's see there ... oh dear ... yes I can read pretty deep in your mind Harry, the acting dumb plan isn't going to get you anywhere. Oh James... and Lily ... how disappointed I am..."

I hadn't had the time to start thinking dumb, the Hat had read me like an open book.

_Fuck._

The Hat didn't answer for a while.

_Hello?_

"Yes Harry, I was thinking. You're a tricky one. One of the trickiest." it paused again for a full minute. I said nothing.  
"A tragedy, a real tragedy. One of those tragedy you read in books and think never happens, what have Lily and James become ... this promise you made, this vow you took ..." it sighed.  
"What you're to accomplish is called True Necromancy, Harry. It's the ultimate purpose of necromancy, the perfect resurrection, to bring someone back in their integrity - body, soul and magic. If anyone ever managed it, they had the good sense of hiding it from history, nobody has ever officially performed true necromancy."

_I will do it, somehow, I will find a way._

"Maybe you will, Harry, maybe you will. You're a powerful wizard, and a natural in the range of mind magic, from what I see here." it sighed again.  
"But to accomplish such things Harry, you'll have to go in branches of magic that will make you an outlaw, a dark wizard as they call them now."  
"I see that going dark isn't a problem for you but you don't know dark magic, you don't _know_ what it could turn you into."

_Don't play games, Hat, you read my mind. You know that I'd kill everybody in magical Britain and myself to bring her back if I had too._ The Hat seemed to be on my side for the moment, I only had to be honest anyway, I couldn't hide anything from him.

"But can I let you go down that slope? I know you have the potential of a great wizard, be it light or dark, Harry, but should I let you destroy yourself and others in your foolish quest of bringing your dead sister back?"

_You're a fucking hat, why would you care?_

"Right on it Harry, I don't. I don't care and that's why I should do my job and place you in Slytherin for what you are. How about it Harry?"

_You know what I want, what do you want ?_

"I wanted to test you a bit, I can't read that far in your emotions Harry, you are pretty good at defending your mind. You should start with that by the way, not only hats can read your mind in this castle..." it said mysteriously.  
"Occlumency is the word, look for it. Now I'm going to sort you in Hufflepuff, Harry, I never do the whole undercover Slytherin thing because every time a brat comes with this genius idea in their head, they have no actual reason to hide their Slytherin-ness and they're not smart enough to be sorted in Ravenclaw anyway. Funny thing, you're the first one to ever ask for Hufflepuff."  
"But this is the exception that proves the rule. Don't disappoint me Harry, do what you have to do and stay yourself, you are not evil Harry, you have a good heart."

_The end is a bit corny but I appreciate the gesture._ I said cheekily, happy that the hat was more than your standard good doer and actually saw the importance of step one. Had I been sorted Slytherin, I would have been labeled as the evil twin of The-Boy-Who-Lived, I would have been monitored, everybody would be have been suspicious on everything I did, that would never have worked.

"Hufflepuff!" I took the Hat off. There was a few second of unperturbed silence. Everyone was looking at me like I was going to grow wings any second.

_What the fuck do they want? _My heart stopped. _Did they hear any of that? Holy tit please no..._

Then, a plump woman at the staff table started to clap, and soon I got the same cheers and clapping as any other Hufflepuff. The witch was Pomona Sprout, head of Hufflepuff, I understood when I watched her more closely once I sat and shook hands with a bunch of Huffies.

"What was that about Harry? You were there for like ten minutes, everybody else took a minute or two at most - What did you tell him?" asked the little blonde called Hannah Abbot.

"I dunno, he asked me about personal stuff and all, I had a lot on my heart so I told him everything." _Perfect whiny Hufflepuff first year mode, activated._

She nodded knowingly and a few other asked me. I served them the same plain _emotionally-charged-pansy_ dish - they all bought it and backed up before I started crying about my problems on their shoulder.

_This is going perfectly, step one, success._ I high-fived myself mentally.

McGonagall waited for the little commotion at our table to quiet down and barked the next name.

"Potter, Zachary!"

"Ohmygosh!" squeaked a second year to my left and I looked up to the ceiling, knowing what would follow.

As I was staring at the stars, my mind drifted away and I was with her again.

* * *

"The weasley twins are the indisputable masters in the domain. I heard your brother hangs out with them anyway, give it a try." I thanked the fifth year Hufflepuff for the piece of information and walked away.

_So these two pranksters are the most knowledgeable source about secrets passageways in this castle? That actually makes a lot of sense, as the notorious pranksters, they would have to have an advantage like this._

It was the first day of November. My classes were going well, I studied seriously and I took the lead in my class. Nothing insane, just good grades. Perfect comportment, I went totally unnoticed save for the few question about my twin, to which I answered kindly that I wouldn't tell anything about him in his back. Hufflepuffs agreed to not harass me with that because it wouldn't be nice. _Thanks guys._

In the meantime, I had made a couple useful friends in Slytherin, Carson Huey was my first friendly contact in the snake pit. I had caught the fourth year taking a shot of Zenix, a soft magical drug, totally illegal in Hogwarts of course, behind the greenhouses. I had carefully approached the guy and slipped between two sentences that I knew he could smuggle illegal things and that I was interested.

I didn't even had to come to blackmail as Carson apparently understood I wasn't as weak as I wanted everyone to think.

"If you need something, write it on that paper. I'll write back the price and if you have the money, I'll find you with the stuff." he had whispered, slipping a piece of parchment in my hand while looking around innocently.

I didn't know what I wanted yet but having a contact was good enough for the moment.

The other Slytherin I approached was the prefect Darden Marvyn. I went to him while he was alone in the library and clearly explained that I was ready to sell secrets about Zachary, _big secrets_, for a friendly relationship between me and the clever side of Slytherin.

"And what would the clever side of Slytherin want to do with your brother's secrets?" he had asked with a grin.

"I got money too." I had said, having nothing else in mind. "Listen, if you're not interested, fine, just remember I made the offer." then, as I was looking him in the eyes, I felt a sting in my brain, like a tiny bee rampaging in the back of my skull.

_Occlumency! The motherfucker is reading my mind!_ I broke eye contact immediately, hoping it would work. I had found nothing about Occlumency in the library and wasn't about to ask Madam Pince about it. It was one of the reason I was looking for a passage out of the castle.

He laughed without shame, "Good, very good potential, Potter. I acknowledge your offer and shall think about it." he stated playfully and went back to reading.

He was dangerous, angel faced and seemingly nice, it was only a mask he wore. But he liked what he saw in me, I was sure I could come to him if I'd need to one day.

For the moment, I needed to look for Occlumency, or if I couldn't find anything on it, Necromancy.

You couldn't find that stuff in Hogwarts, not even in the restricted section, after the bit of research I made and the mentions of Necromancy I caught in various books, I concluded it was considered one of the, if not the darkest branch of magic out there.

I needed to go where you find illegal magic artifacts. I needed to go to Knockturn Alley.

And that is why I was currently looking for a secret - or not - passage between Hogwarts and Diagon Alley, which was directly linked to Knockturn Alley. I wasn't ready to ask my newfound Slytherin contacts yet, so the Weasley twins it would be.

I walked into the great hall and glanced at my watch. Nine in the morning, a Saturday, he was definitely here. As I walked toward the Gryffindor table, some of my housemates spotted me and greeted me.

"Hey Harry, I was wondering if you could help me out with the potion essay, you're pretty good at it even if Snape won't admit it." inquired Louise, which was not especially bad at potions from what I recalled.

"You're not bad yourself, Louise, but if you really do need help I'd be glad to." I smiled, and continued on my path as she softly blushed.

"Oy Harry, my good pal, how are you doing?" greeted Ernie, as lively as ever, tapping my back like we were long time "pals".

"I'm good and you Ernie? Listen I just gotta see my brother about something, catch you later, mate." he smiled widely and rose his thumb up, "No problem, see you later."

_This is easy. Way too easy. All I have to do is to be nice, smile to girls, and help people with their homework._

I made my way around a group of fifth years standing between the two tables and got to the Gryffindor table. The twins nowhere in sight, I reached my own twin and called him.

"Zach? Can I ask you something?"

"Oh...If it's about the fight with the troll, it wasn't us and we didn't earn all these points." he grinned proudly.

I had heard the rumor of Zach defeating the troll the night before but I really didn't give a damn. While I really doubted of Zach's ability to vanquish such a creature, I knew he was a Potter, and that those needed only a bit of luck to do seemingly impossible things.

"Yeah, no, I don't really care about that, I was just hoping you could present me the Weasley twins, I heard you know them personally."

Zach was coughing his cornflakes, probably shocked at my lack of interest concerning the troll affair, when his friend Ron spoke up.

"The Weasley twins you mean my brothers?" as I noticed that I had totally forgotten Ron's existence until now, I also noticed that his question was about the dumbest he could have managed.

However, I wasn't the one scolding him.

"How many Weasley twins do you know, genius?" said a bushy haired girl, "I'm Hermione Granger" she stood and presented me a hand to shake.

Hermione Granger, the smart know-it-all everybody was talking about, the one that I had been sick of hearing since the very first Gryffindor-Hufflepuff Herbology lessons.

"Harry, pleased to meet you, I've heard numerous things about you." I said cryptically. _Perhaps she'll get the hint and stop trying to be friends._

"Me too, especially that little ... problem you had at the riding lesson. You know I am researching the subject, I'd really like to know what happened, would you maybe answer a few questions about it?" she uttered in one breath, taking a big intake of oxygen at the end.

My "little problem" at the riding lesson was not on the news anymore but it had attired a bit of attention at the time.

I had been in a bad mood the day we had this lesson, I'd had nightmares about Natasha dying over and over again. I'd avoided everyone successfully, and eventually found myself seething internally in front of my broom, determined to act normal. "Up." I had commanded like everybody else, it hadn't worked, like everybody else.

Only I knew I had good control over brooms, I was even a very good rider.

So I got mad, I got mad at the god damn broom for not helping me in this shitty day. "UP!" I had bellowed, feeling power surge into my arm.

All the sixty brooms of the Hufflepuff/Ravenclaw lesson twitched _hardcore _and raced toward me, crashing in each other, knocking out students, tearing themselves out of their owners' hands, in a insane mess of wood and twigs.

Twelve broken brooms and three broken wrists.

And I only survived because of Madam Hooch's wits and fast reflexes who raised a shield around me. My insane control dropped after maybe half a second, but it was enough to be buried under a mountain of brooms. They would have tore through me, or at least crunched my hand into a bloody pudding.

I explained that I had a nightmare and that it was just a burst of accidental magic. It was shameful to have accidental magic at this age but it was better than admitting that the sheer _hate_ and _power_ I pushed in my command overpowered everything around us.

Thankfully, they ate it up. Mostly. Some fifth years and such eyed me strangely for a couple days after and older Slytherin students watched me from a distance.

Everybody forgot this story quickly enough, with all the things that happen in this castle... The troll affair for instance was the last nail in this episode's coffin.

Except for Hermione Granger, apparently.

"Listen, it was just accidental magic, drop it, okay? I won't answer any questions." I replied shortly.

"But -" she started. _No, fuck you Granger, drop it._

"Accidental magic can do crazy things, Granger, _dangerous things_. You could ask Zach about that but I'm not playing your game. Drop it." I had looked Zach in the eyes the entire time. He was white as a sheet. He quietly put his spoon back in the cereal bowl.

"Drop it Hermione, please." he muttered weakly.

"What do you mean ask Zach, did he do something, did he have an-" she stopped when she turned to look at him. "Well ... ok I'll let it go." she finished, uneasy.

"So, the twins. Where do I find them?" I didn't forget what I'd come for.

"They must be in the Gryffindor tower, let's go look for them. I'll take care of it, you two stay here." ordered Zach softly, he then stood up and walked away, letting his two worried friends behind him.

We walked for a while before I broke the silence.

"So, you didn't tell them."

"I'll tell them eventually, I ... I just want to be sure I can trust them with that."

"Weird that nobody ever heard of it in the first place if you ask me."

"Yeah ... but people don't know anything about us, except for me defeating Voldemort and dad refusing the Head Auror position to raise us, it's all they need to know for the legend ... so yeah"

"I know, but it's still weird." I concluded.

"Know what's weird?" he asked rhetorically, "You being sorted in Hufflepuff."

I said nothing.

"Gryffindor was a given, Ravenclaw would have been understandable since you were always reading books and things, Slytherin would have explained your behavior at home, but Hufflepuff? I don't remember seeing you cry even once and I ... I mean really ? Ten minutes under the Hat to get sorted Hufflepuff, the cry baby House? I know you Harry, and there's definitely something strange here."

_I wouldn't have thought you of all people would see through the plot._

"And being under the Hat for ten minutes to be finally sorted Gryffindor, what everyone expected to happen the second you'd touch the Hat, isn't that weird? For the beacon of light, it sure took time to find where you belong."

"Yes, there is something strange, but I know what, in my case. I'm wondering what's strange with _you_."

"You know how much I loved her, you know how much her death was hard for me. The Hat wanted to put me in Hufflepuff to get the comfort I needed. I tried to get in Gryffindor, so we argued quite a lot. But in the end, the Hat was right, I'm fine in Hufflepuff."

He put his hand on my shoulder and smiled weakly.

"I'm glad we had this talk Harry. I know it was hard for you with mom, dad and Nat and all but I hope we can stay cool." _Bingo._

"It'll take time for such wounds to heal but I appreciate, Zach." _Augh ... terrible._

A flight of stairs and ten minutes later, I was with the Weasley twins, Zach went back to the great hall and we took a little walk.

"So, here goes, I need to be sure you're gonna be discreet about this so tell me, what is the thing that I can give you want the most? Money, help, anything? I can offer a wide range of services." I asked them. My need for a passage out of the school had to stay secret. Sure I could deny but once the rumor is spread...

"Mmmh what do you think, Fred?"

"Money of course, my dear brother, we can do everything else ourselves!"

"Very well, how much money are we talking about, little Potter?" smiled George.

"Twenty galleon to accept to never tell what I'm about to ask, with vow of silence, on your magic, for ten years." I offered in my best business-like voice.

Fred and George stopped walking both at the same time an dropped all playfulness. They brought me to a secluded bench, on a wide bridge between two towers.

"Offer taken, but we don't have to accept what you ask, right?" asked Fred.

"Not at all."

He then took his wand and performed a flawless vow of silence, I could have done it too but there was no use in showing off.

"We swear on our magic that we will not talk to anybody else outside of this vow about what Harry Potter is about to tell us, for ten years this vow shall be respected." The magic flared and swirled around us before vanishing. I felt the vow taking place.

"Done, now let us proceed." grinned Fred, presenting me his palm.

I placed a purse of twenty galleons in it and spoke.

"I need a secret passage between Hogwarts and Diagon Alley that no one knows about, I'll pay sixty galleons."

They looked at each other.

"Mmmmmh, sixty galleons ... that's quite a lot."

"Indeed it is but this piece of information isn't exactly cheap, is it?"

"Oh, since there is only one secret passage like this, it would absolutely not be." acquiesced George, smiling even more widely, "a hundred galleons and the info is yours."

"We will even promise to not tell anyone about the passage after you."

_They're going to sell that info for a hundred galleons? Lucky me._

"Okay for a hundred, but how do you know no one else knows it?" It wasn't vital to me but still very important, I wouldn't like to run into someone while going out of the castle.

Fred whispered something in George's ear and he nodded.

"We own a map, a map that shows some secret passages. Nobody else have that map since it's an unique artifact. Also, we have been using the particular passage for a while now and we never encountered anyone."

"Furthermore, the map is some sort of ... monitoring system. If someone knew this passage, we would know it, trust us."

_Monitoring system, secret passages?_

"How much for the map? I can pay really big." I asked, sensing the incredible opportunity.

"Ahhh, tut tut tut Harry, the map isn't for sale, but we'll keep you in mind if that changes." mocked Fred patronizingly, throwing his arm around my shoulders "Now for the passage, do we deal?"

"We do, a hundred galleons and a promise to not tell anybody about it." they were under a silence vow so I let my face and tone darken, "I'm not playing guys, If I meet anybody in there I'll know you sold the info and I won't be nice."

"Business is business Harry, don't worry."

"Quite the Hufflepuff personality you showed here, Harry" mocked George, looking suspiciously at me, "We're under vow of silence anyway so, why do you need to get to Diagon Alley?" he asked curiously.

"Thank you and none of your business, George. Now lads if you'd excuse me, I don't have all day." I retorted cheerfully before throwing them a money bag produced from the Gringotts On-Demand wallet.

Fred caught it while George took a piece of parchment and started writing all the indications about the secret passage.

"You've got to understand Diagon Alley is way too far to get here on foot. So the passage we're giving to you leads to a shop's basement in Hogsmeade, you'll have to floo from here. The shop's ward won't be tripped since you come from within , but the owners sleep here, so you'll have to be cautious to not wake them up. We can provide you floo powder to have your personal stash, it would get their attention to just use their own stash." explained Fred.

"The walk is around forty five minutes, your choice to use a broom or not but we don't recommend it, we had a little ... misadventure. The path is quite sinuous. " finished George, handing me the piece of parchment.

I folded it and slipped it on my pocket.

"Pleasure to do business with you. Goodbye." I had it. Now to plan my first visit in Knockturn Alley, you don't just walk in a place like that.

"Our pleasure Harry, our pleasure. Come back any time!"

Knockturn Alley was dangerous, I couldn't go in there with my eleven years old face and weak body. Only the purebloods could do that, those that everybody knew better than to hurt. I wasn't one of those. I would need some base in self defense and an aging potion.

Aging potion were monitored by the Ministry and forbidden under the age of seventeen. It was said to mess with the body growth. _I'm not about to hesitate for something like this, if it fucks my growth up then be it._

I looked around. Nobody. I opened my bag and fetched a special piece of paper with the initial C.H. written on it. I took a quill out, murmured _Atramenti Replere_, the ink charm and scribbled three words.

**_Aging potion, floo powder, cheap broom._**

_Let's see how useful you can be, Carson._

I waited a minute or two and seeing that nothing was happening, I put everything back in my bag and went back to the Hufflepuff common room.


	3. Chapter 3

**_I intend no copyright infringement, etc._**

* * *

**.**

**Too Young to Die.**

**.**

**Chapter 3.**

**.**

* * *

**_100 galleons, 10 sickles, 40 galleons._**

Those three sums were waiting on my piece of parchment three days after, I wrote a quick "deal" and put it back into my bag.

"What are you writing so early in the morning?" Loren Nerys, one of my housemates had seen me.

"Nothing, just something to be sure to remember." I lied coolly. I liked Loren more than anyone else. Actually, she was the only one I genuinely liked.

"Oh you do that too? I always forget stuff so I have to put reminders everywhere. Like the other day I had to remember to bring the book on Transfiguration back to professor Jenkins but I just couldn't, so a couple days later I pasted a sock to the dormitory's door."

"Where are you going with that story exactly ?". She was a breath of fresh air.

"Well, when I saw the sock glued to the door it immediately reminded me of the book and then I gave it back." she laughed, "I always do stuff like that, it's really useful."

"I know what you mean but one of these days you'll be so used of seeing stuff glued here and there, you won't remember what is about what." I argued as we walked to the great hall together.

"It doesn't work like this, your brain_ has_ to remember why you glued something at someplace."

I spotted the Slytherin prefect walking in a perpendicular corridor. _I was just about to look for you.  
_"Mh, listen, I gotta run somewhere before class, so tell Hannah I'll give her the Charms homework in Potions." I started changing direction.

"Where are you going? I can come with you I'm not hungry." she didn't let my arm go.

"Yeah but Hannah's gonna panic if she doesn't see me at breakfast, please?" _Let me go._

"Okay. Sure." she smiled and went away.

Once she was far enough I started jogging down the corridor I had seen Marvyn in. Eventually, I found him, he was alone but there were people in the corridor. We couldn't be seen even talking to each other.  
I ran and bumped into him, then proceeded to fall flat on the ground. He looked at me, an eyebrow raised and an amused smile on his handsome features. I stood up and apologized "Sorry, prefect, I wasn't looking where I was going. I think I'm lost, I'm looking for the west yard." with my best innocent face.

"The west yard is in the west part of the castle, now get off my face before I curse your bits." he spoke with a gentle voice, like he was giving a candy to a 4 years old. People around us watched the exchange and went back to their business, seeing that nothing more was going to happen.

Ten minutes later, I was in the west yard, sitting on a bench behind the trees. Marvyn came five minutes after me, he sat on the bench and waited.

_This guy is creeping me out, something unhealthy._

"So, I have a small request. Would you be interested in hearing it?" I started carefully, I didn't even know if he would listen to me.

"Of course, Potter." he smiled.

"So here's the deal, I'd need some information on Knockturn Alley. I'd need good addresses, tips on how to not get robbed and all that jazz. Will you help me?"

He looked at me, I refused to let the eye contact happen. Then he laughed.  
"Knockturn Alley isn't that dangerous, Potter, as long as you don't venture too deep into its bowels." he watched at me a bit more before asking "What is it that you're looking for, Potter?"

"Do we have a deal?" I insisted, hoping that he wouldn't get offended.

"What do you offer for my help?"

"Not necessarily _your_ help, you could point me to someone else if you're busy. I'm just looking for tips. I could pay. I could give a couple things to stain my brother's reputation, what do you want?"

"Mmmmh, I'll do this one for free, Potter. Why? Because you intrigue me and I don't need anything you could give me. So go on and ask your questions, classes start in twenty minutes."

_He wants nothing? That can only be bad. Oh well in the worst case I can always deny, who's gonna believe the psycho sixth year Slytherin over the scared Hufflepuff firstie?_

"I need to find books on mind magic, particularly Occlumency." I wasn't about to trust him with the big Necromancer thing. He raised an eyebrow but said nothing. I went on.  
"I have a way to get in Knockturn Alley, loaded with aging potion and I plan to go during the Christmas break. My question is - once in Knockturn Alley, what do I do? Where do I go? I'm learning the disarming charm and easy stunners to be at least half-able of defending myself but I need some sort of plan." I explained clearly, making sure to not say too much.

He stayed silent for a while.  
"I had taken you for a dumb first year with a natural talent at mind magic who wanted to swim with the sharks too soon. I had thought you were going to be fun to play with." he muttered seriously, and his voice dropped an octave. "But you're beyond playing. You're a true shark, aren't you Potter? You have a way out of here to Knockturn Alley and an aging potion ready to use, that's impressive in itself for a first year, but you're actually going there, I see it in your eyes, no hesitations, no fear..."  
I said nothing but certainly didn't feel as carefree as he seemed to think.  
"Occlumency? How did you even hear about that Potter? Mind magic is an obscure branch of magic and way beyond any first year. But you're something else aren't you..."  
He stopped his monologue on this note and smiled.  
"I'll give you a couple addresses and spells to learn before going there, let's say Saturday, eight in the morning, this bench?"

"That'd be great." I didn't know what to think of this, was he making fun of me? _He looked dead serious though._

I hurried to the dungeons for Potions. "Five points from Hufflepuff for being late, Mr. Potter, care to explain why you were late?" Snape was his usual self, unfair to me because of my father. _The funny part is that I probably hate James as much as he does._

"I woke up too late sir, my apologies for having disturbed your lesson."

"Yes yes, go and sit down already, you're far from the best in this class Mr. Potter, you can't afford to lose a single second." he waved dismissively striding toward his desk.

_I can afford to miss two dozen hours of your lessons and we both know it_. I grinned, he was pathetic. I was by far the best in my class, potion was a fascinating subject, even with Snape as professor half the time. The other professor I had was Professor Herrington, he wasn't a potion master but at least he tried to teach us.

"Today, you will work in groups of three, hopefully you're not as bad in groups as you are in pairs and we'll have a lesson without incidents." he whispered dangerously, glaring at Elissa Netta, who had melted a Ravenclaw's cauldron while he wasn't paying attention a few days prior.

I was put in a group with Smith and Louise, we ended up with a perfect minor rejuvenation potion, light purple with a thin layer of frost on the surface, like it was described in the textbook for an A-class potion. Snape said nothing, he even pretended to be watching a group of Ravenclaws when we were the first ones to put our phial on the desk. _We'll probably end up with an Acceptable..._

History of Magic was next, I'd skip it. I had to master the disarming charm and a few other before the winter break. Today would be my first super secret training.

"...and then Harry said it wasn't asphodel but star grass!" everyone laughed merrily at Louise's story.

"Guys, I'm going to skip History, I have to start this essay for Jenkins on the proprieties of a transfigured object."

"Oh, come on Harry, you can do it during History like the rest of us." whined Smith.

"Yeah, actually I kinda counted on you to help me." admitted Louise.

I saw the rest of my housemates starting to form a big group around us, Ashton, Cynthia, Ernie, Lynn, Sullivan, we were becoming a hoard. _Damn it, they're trapping me in with their stupid always-in-group mentality._

"Harry can I talk to you in private?" asked suddenly Loren.

"Er, sure." We walked out of the group and stopped, letting them go ahead.

"There, now you're free." she had a cute smile and hurried back in the group.

_She knows me better than I thought, I should keep an eye on her._

I made my way to the third floor forbidden corridor, I was sure to be alone in there. Hogwarts was so huge and had so many classrooms you could probably fit five thousand students in it. However, students liked to explore and hang around all over the place. Even the most secluded classroom could be used by a couple of sixth year making out or worse. The forbidden corridor being forbidden, it was most likely empty.

I got there and entered a random abandoned classroom. It was dusty. So dusty even the dust layer seemed to be unusually dusty. The furniture were probably thinner under all that dust.

I sat on a chair, opened my bag and got my parchment out. I had already studied most of the spells written on it so I immediately started with the practical work.

"Expelliarmus!" I shouted, aiming at a desk, a red beam of magic struck the floor.

_Mh, my aim is a bit off, the spell was a bit curved._

"Expelliarmus!" I shouted again, jabbing my wand forward more rapidly than before.

The desk was hit dead in the center and fell onto the ground, knocked back.

_That's more like it._

"Expelliarmus." I jabbed my wand with the exact same motion, but spoke the incantation quietly instead of shouting it. The spell hit the desk in the center again, but this time too weakly to make it fall.

"Expelliarmus." I repeated calmly, but this time focusing intently on the fact that I wanted the desk to be hit _hard_. The spell was a bit better.

A few more tries later, I could successfully cast it without speaking louder than a murmur, with a perfect accuracy.

_Disarming charm, mastered. But I need more._

I spent the remaining hour and a half practicing _Aspernum_, the repelling charm, and _Incutio_, a small striking curse and _Caperentum_, a minor stunning spell that despite being labeled as minor, couldn't be shaken off as easily as the standard Hogwarts fun spells like _Petrificus Totalus_ and such.

Those were good for kids but any real wizard could break them after a few seconds. The _Stupefy_ curse, one the other hand was too much for me, my magic muscle wasn't strong enough to manage it yet.

I left the room happy but tired. I mastered every spells and celebrated by unleashing a few dozen _Incutio_ on the desks, smashing them to bits.

As I walked back to the great hall, I thought about my plan. It was risky, dangerous even, insane and so much more. But mostly it was _thrilling_.

_Can't wait to actually be here_. I grinned at my own enthusiasm.

* * *

"You will also need to get a dark cloak, people don't usually show their faces in Knockturn Alley, unless they are well known purebloods like the Malfoys for instance."  
It was Saturday morning, Marvyn showed up as agreed almost a week ago. I was writing down everything he explained in a little notebook.  
"You're smart enough to know you don't want to get noticed too much so I won't explain that, but I'll teach you the Notice-Me-Not charm and the Disillusionment Charm."

I looked up.

"You'll teach me?" that was hardly believable.

"Yes I will, Potter but only because you'll be actually paying me. Let's say you're sort of working for me now." he smiled. _That doesn't sound good at all.  
_"I have a certain number of ... items that I'd like to smuggle in the castle, and you seem to have a way to go directly in Diagon Alley, something nobody else has. So you will bring me those items, free of charges of course."

_Well that doesn't look too bad, I planned to bring illegal stuff in anyway. I'll just have to make sure this little stunt doesn't attract any unwanted attention._

"Now for the items I need, I'll make an arrangement with Borgin & Burkes to take delivery so you'll just have to deal with them, I'll write you a blood signed parchment and they won't ask anything." he made a small pause.  
"Occlumency is an art passed from a wizard to another, orally. If you wish to learn it in a book, they do exist and are usually more than a simple book." he explained cryptically.  
"To find such rare and precious books, you'll have to go deeper in Knockturn Alley. Look for the Black Bricks." he stopped, watching a Ravenclaw couple in the distance, probably looking for a quiet place to snog. They walked away without seeing us.  
"The Black Bricks are walls made of black bricks, not hard to remember. You'll have to put your wand or hand on one of these walls and pour dark magic in it."

I smirked.  
"Pour dark magic in it? Do you take me for some dumbass Gryffindor? Magic isn't dark or light, it all depend on how you use it."

"You'll understand when you cast your first dark spell, Potter. Dark magic feels different, it's all a matter of intent actually, just pour some evil in the bricks - I don't care if it sounds stupid, you'll know what I'm talking about soon enough." he cut me with a short hand gesture.  
"The bricks will transport you somewhere in the next layer of Knockturn Alley. There are lots of layers. And each one has Black Bricks to go either a layer up or a layer down. For what you'll looking for, I'd recommend looking in the fifth layer for a bookshop called _Hyacinth's Haven._"

I finished writing the explanation on the Black Bricks and the name of the bookshop.

"What do you mean - I'll know soon enough?" I didn't know any dark magic and hadn't planned to teach myself any.

"You might need more than a few combat and concealment tricks and spells if you're going through the black bricks. I'll teach you a simple dark spell, nothing hard, nothing even too dangerous, but something spectacular. _Ocunuo intus_, a dark eye bleeding curse. Not very dangerous in itself, but if you're getting threatened by a group of thugs, they'll think that you know what you're doing and will let you in peace... most likely."

"And what makes you think that'll help me using the black bricks?"

"Oh it will, Potter." he stood up and stretched. "Now go, I'll fetch you for your lessons. Don't speak about this to anyone, of course you know I wouldn't hesitate ripping your vocal cords out if I heard you let anything out. Not that I did anything illegal, but I like to stay discreet."

"Crystal clear. Good day." I bowed slightly before heading toward the great hall, making sure to walk straight and not too fast.

_So, about a month left until D-day, I've got my combat spells ready, I've got my broom, aging potion and floo powder ready, I checked the secret's passage entrance the other day, everything is ready. I'll just buy some cloak in Diagon Alley before going in._

_The Notice-Me-Not and the Disillusionment Charms are O.W.L. level charms though, I don't know how that'll go. If I disappoint him with that, I'm losing his esteem._

_I'd better start studying them on my own._

* * *

"Ocunuo intus."

The ferret twitched and started trashing on the ground.

Once immobilized, I could see its eyes bleeding slowly, reddening its vision and dripping blood on the floor boards. There was no sign of wound, the blood just dripped from the top of the eyes.

"It takes as much blood as a weak blood replenishment potion gives." explained Marvyn.  
"The counter curse can be performed wandlessly without much effort. Here goes." he passed his fingers an inch before the ferret's eyes, canceling the curse.  
"Of course, the more power your put in the curse, the harder it is to counter." he paused pensively, "I think that's all you need to know. Cast it."

I raised my wand hesitantly. _I don't care about using dark magic, so why do I hesitate?_

_The final goal is to perform necromancy, so stop being a pansy and get on with it, this is entry-level shit._

I took aim.

"Remember Potter, you need to want it, even on a ferret, you _want_ to hurt it."

I coolly executed the wand motion and talked the incantation, focusing on my wish to hurt the ferret.

"Ocunuo intus."

The invisible hex must have hit because the ferret started thrashing again. I, however, did not notice that.

I had fallen on my knees the second I finished casting the curse. I was panting heavily. I was sweating.  
The _feeling_ of the dark magic was wonderful, ecstatic. I could still feel remains of dark magic in my body, in my arm, softly numbing my being with pleasure.

"Dark magic feels great, Potter, it feels unhealthy, painful and yet so addictive." he sat down while I was trying to get up.  
"That is what I meant when I said pour dark magic in the bricks. You'll have to unleash your magic and look for this feeling. Some wizards compare dark magic to sex, but dark wizards know how much _better_ than sex it is, how much more than a simple physical stimulation it is. That is why numerous dark wizard kill and torture for pleasure, Potter."

That conclusion made sense. _So that's why there are always bad guys. Being bad feels awesome._

"The feeling won't be as strong the next time you use that spell, your body accommodates to it, it does for most of the spells. But some spells are so _loaded_ with negative intent and dark magic, they can be an unlimited source of pleasure, the _Cruciatus_ curse for instance."  
Listening to him was rapidly sobering me, soon I was standing again.  
"But the more powerful a dark spell is, the more twisted are the feelings you receive, it's an accurate dosage of pleasure, pain and a myriad of emotions, to be able to enjoy the most advanced curses, you'd have to use dark magic quite a bit before." He smiled softly.  
"And the more you use it, the more you want it." he concluded.

"Does it feel the same when you cast it on humans?" _After all, this was only a ferret._

He smiled and jabbed his wand toward the ferret, muttering something.  
The animal began to grow, deformed, bloated. It started losing hair, and soon, on the floor was a naked Draco Malfoy, sobbing, mixed blood and tears dripping on his cheeks arms and legs shaking.

He started to get up but stumbled back on the ground. He started to open his mouth to talk but choked on his saliva.

"Mister Malfoy here needed a lesson, Potter. Sadly, I can't afford to have him remember that - Obliviate!"

A beam of green light hit the blond boy in the forehead, leaving a dumb look on his face.

_Holy fucking shit. I just cast dark magic on a first year! And the fucking scion of Malfoy with that!_

"Get your clothes back from the drawer and go back to sleep, Mr. Malfoy." commanded Marvyn whilst cancelling my eye bleeding curse and cleaning him.  
Draco nodded stupidly and walked to the drawer. He took his clothes, dressed and left the room without a word or a look back.  
"The memory charm, I overdosed it a bit so the brat won't remember anything until he wakes up." explained helpfully Marvyn.  
"Young wizards are so damn easy to manipulate." he laughed, knocking his head back, "Don't look at me like that, it's not always fun to be a prefect you know."

"If he somehow remembers this, we're both fucked. I hope you know what you're doing."

"You are right, Potter, never trust anyone in this business. However, I wouldn't risk getting on the wrong side of Lucius Malfoy just to trap you - I could simply do whatever I want with you. Now, you have mastered the Notice-Me-Not charm and the eye-bleeding curse. It's a shame you couldn't do the Disillusionment charm but you'll manage." he switched to a more serious face and tone.  
"The items you're going to fetch for me are waiting in Borgin & Burkes. They will be contained in a shrinkable chest, you are forbidden to open it. I will know it if you did. If you get caught by anyone, be it Aurors in Diagon Alley or Flitch in the castle, this chest is yours, invent some crap about it, I don't care but if someone forces you to open it, put your hand on its rear and say "Show your contents" - that will destroy everything inside it and open it afterwards. I trust you to not do it unless it's necessary"  
I nodded and stored the chest's emergency procedure in my mind.  
"And of course, you have nothing to do with me. I don't know what you plan to say if you get caught but I'm sure I won't be involved."

"That goes without saying, thank you." I answered respectfully.

"No, thank _you_, Potter for spicing this year up." he smiled happily before getting out of the unused classroom.

I left half an hour later and headed back to the Hufflepuff headquarters. While I still had some time before curfew, I was the last Hufflepuff to come back, at least for the first and second years.

"Where have you been, Harry, studying at the library, _again_?" inquired Hannah.

"What do you even study in there, you're already the first of the class." laughed Zacharias Smith.

"Leave him alone, he doesn't have to justify himself." scolded Loren, walking toward me. She turned to face the others, gave them her best "take a hike" look and they laughed it off, scattering in the common room.  
"I won't ask you, promise. But do you want to tell me what you were doing? You weren't in the library, I tried."

Loren had become my closest friend, but also the most dangerous. She knew I was hiding things.

"What if I don't?" I asked, seemingly joking.

"I could live with it, Exploding Snap?" she seemed to accept that I had secrets.

We sat down and spent the evening playing exploding snap with Smith, Louise and various Hufflepuff first and second years passing by.

_I cast a dark eye-bleeding curse on a first year, not an hour ago. And I loved every second of it._

* * *

I took a glance at my watch.

9:45 PM.

I looked at the one-eyed witch statue standing before me. My Cleansweep three was in my hand and the aging potion was in my pocket. I had managed to get here unnoticed, not that I cared if someone saw me with a broom anyway, Zachary had one, so I didn't see why I wouldn't be allowed to.

After a quick scan of the area, I took my wand out, remembering what George - or was it Fred - told me about the passage.

"Dissendium." The statue softly rumbled and opened itself, showing a narrow path.

_Well, here goes nothing_. I thought whilst entering the dark tunnel.

I walked for a few seconds before entering a natural cave. Stalactites and stalagmites covered the whole area and dripping water echoed far away.

The next tunnel seemed sort of wide, so I mounted my broom and kicked the ground. I felt the cold air in my hair and my clothing, and accelerated toward the tunnel. The ride was bumpy, dangerous even but I was no slouch on a broom and went without too much trouble. I dismounted and placed the broom on the ground when the tunnel narrowed into a makeshift stairway.

There was a wooden trapdoor at the end.

_So here I am, now for the aging potion._

I undressed, not bothering to fold my clothes, took the phial out of my pocket, uncorked it and took a sip. The taste wasn't terrible. _Tastes like lemons._

The change was immediate and violent, I fell on the rocky ground, thrashing. It was like every fiber, every cell of my body was getting stretched by a crude hook. I barely had the time to yelp, the change was already over.

I quickly felt my face with my hands, I was definitely a lot taller and older, at least 15. Maybe even more.

I picked my wand up and transfigured my clothes into nondescript black robes and cloak. I had to adjust the size a bit so I could fit and I was done. _Transformation complete._

I placed a Notice-Me-Not on myself, tapped the trapdoor and whispered "Dissendium" again. It opened with a slight squeak and a stone wall behind it slid slowly toward the left. Once it was finished, I entered the room.

It was, according to the twins, the cellar of the Honeydukes shop. I cast a quick _Lumos_ to watch around me and confirmed. Barrels and wooden boxes filled the space, some of them stamped with the Honeydukes logo.

I needed to find the fireplace which I was told was in the back shop. I climbed the stairs to the ground floor, pushed the door - _A luck they trust their external wards enough to not even lock anything_ - and made my way to the back shop. The fireplace was here, waiting for me quietly in the silent room. I grabbed my floo powder bag, took a pinch of the silvery material and tossed it in. Green flames sprouted, I didn't lose any time and stepped in, muttering "Diagon Alley, third public entrance."

I rematerialized in the third entrance, which was placed in a usually quiet side street.

10:10 PM.

_Not bad, twenty five minutes to be in Diagon Alley, incognito_. I looked around. _Nobody._

I made my way to Knockturn Alley, passing by a couple Aurors here and there, and entered, my hand tight around my wand.

_I'll go look for my stuff first and pick his stuff on the way back. Now, where can I find those Black Bricks..._

There was a bit of traffic in Knockturn Alley, I went unnoticed, bumping in a wizard or two, getting used to be so tall. Few wizards were taller than me in the street.

_Where are these damned black bricks..._ I was walking slowly and surveying the side streets, looking for the black bricks when I spotted a silhouette tap on a wall and disappear suddenly. That was it.

The black bricks were indeed black bricks, they were even glossy black bricks. I whipped my wand out, set it on a brick and _pushed_ magic out.

Nothing happened.

_Fucking hell I knew it wouldn't work, how am I meant to "look for" the feeling of dark magic? Okay, plan B._

I aimed at a random passerby discreetly and whispered "Ocunuo intus.".

I didn't take the time to register the reaction of the victim, I used the soft pleasure I was experiencing and pushed magic in the bricks. The bricks glowed softly, and without any warning, I vanished.

A second later, I was panting and shivering with thrill, in a heavily frequented square. Witches and wizards were walking in every directions, most of them cloaked and walking fast. Some were striding determinedly, like they owned the place, without any concealment. _They probably do own the place._

There were shops here and there, most of them apparently old and uninteresting, with washed off colours and plain facades. There were a lot of side streets, going in every directions and I could distinguish entrances to an underground level through the crowd.

I couldn't help but smile. _So far, this is great. The secret passage, the broom ride, the black bricks, it's not exactly a breeze but damn it's fun._

I was in the second layer of Knockturn Alley, I didn't have the time to hang around. I needed another set of black bricks. Now that I had used them once, I was pretty sure I understood how they worked.

A few tries and four brick walls later, I was walking down a non-paved street, apparently the main street of layer five. It was nowhere as lively as the second one, a few dark shapes were walking down the street but that was it. The few side streets looked like they were only residential. _Maybe a couple brothels in there but no shops._

I eventually reached _Hyacinth's Haven_. It was a reasonably big bookshop, or maybe library as there were chairs and tables to read. Three persons were in the shop at the moment, reading quietly. I approached the counter and motioned the bookseller to come. It was a pretty young witch, maybe twenty years old.

"What can I do for you? Want something to drink while reading, or looking for a certain book?" she offered helpfully with a smile.

I was a little taken aback. _What am I doing here cloaked like a leper, am I really in the bad guys side? The heat under this thing is unbearable._

I took my hood off and she smiled even wider. I could tell she liked what she saw. _I don't know if I should see my own future face or not. At least she likes it._

"I'm..." I started, only to stop, shocked by my manly voice. _I sound so... old._ I mused, before shaking my head and starting again.  
"I'm looking for anything you have on mind magic, Occlumency most particularly and ... anything on Necromancy." I queried with a nice smile, she was really pretty.

She, however, stopped smiling.

"Would you wait a second, please." she walked through a door behind her.

A few minutes later, she came back and motioned me to follow her in the rows of bookshelves. I followed her.

"I had to check the wards, we have a few blacklisted customers that could try and get in. Anyone who is looking for books about Necromancy have to be checked, order from Madam Hyacinth herself." she explained.  
"So here you have _Inferi : What to Expect _by Stevenson McGill, which is the best to start understanding Inferi, we also have _Golem from All Over the World_, by Seen Shamish, a nice volume to study all sort of golem. You should also consider _Anima Creatura, The Codex_, a very famous tome in the field of Necromancy."

"I'll take them all."

"Those are highly forbidden tomes, we are not allowed to sell them." she scolded, "But of course we do sell them anyway." she added before giggling softly.

At this moment, I fell in love with her. _Wait, no, what the fuck? Why am I so distracted by her? Focus, Harry, her lips aren't that sexy.  
_Then it hit me. _Why am I even finding her sexy? I'm too young for th- ... oh wait...  
Fuck. _The aging potion apparently changed _everything_.

"Well thank you for that, you're a lifesaver." I grinned internally, in a way, she really was.

"You haven't seen anything, this is my work. I can get really helpful in private." she whispered in a mischievous tone.

_Yep, she's flirting. I'm fucking eleven years old. _The feelings I was having were totally new and yet so familiar. I felt like it was always here but I never saw it.

_But I know that's bullshit, I won't give half a fuck about her once I'm back to 11 years old Harry..._

"Your decision to show me, I'm all for getting private." _can't help it, captain!_

She laughed, her eyes meeting mines. I blushed.  
"What else did you want? Mind magic, is that right?" she let the previous books fly to the counter on their own and started to walk again.

"Yep, mind magic, mind protection, Occlumency, all that jazz."

"You want to learn how to read minds?" she answered provokingly while leading me in another row.

"Oh no, I already know how to do that." I grinned.

"Oh really!" she stopped and turned to face me, "So tell me, what do I have in mind right now?"

I couldn't stop at this point, I was fifteen or more and I wanted nothing else in the world than what was in front of me at this moment.

"I know it but I don't think it'd be proper to say it out loud." I designated the reading people in the distance. "You're a naughty one aren't you." I added in a murmur, with a wide grin.

She laughed again and went back on her way.  
"You assume a lot, young man." she stopped before a bookshelf and started taking tomes off.  
"So, we have the base of mind magic, _Obliviation Through and Through: All There Is to Know on the Obliviate Charm_, the most complete and illegal book about Obliviation, which is a good part of mind magic."

"Sold."

"And we have _Modern Mind Magic, from 1206 to Today_, the most up-to-date mind magic book. Now we have more on another bookshelf -"

"That'll be enough thank you, how about you find me a book on Occlumency now?" I cut her. I didn't need every book on mind magic, those two will suffice.

"Occlumency? I don't remember any book about that, but it should be mentioned in the mind magic books." she said, shrugging.

I looked at my watch, 11h27 PM.

"Do I have to pay for a table or do I just sit?" I asked.

I had all the night to study, then I had to get back to Hogwarts as soon as Honeydukes opened, precisely 8AM.

With the trip back through the passage, I'd be in time to pretend I was here all night. I'd slip in the dormitory, then in my bed and that would be it. There weren't much students left anyway, most of them went home for the break, and those who stayed weren't about to wake up before 9AM.

"If you buy the books, it's free, If you don't, there is a price chart over here." she smiled.

She smiled way too much.

We walked to the counter and she counted.

"Five books, 130 galleons. Thank you and good night." I paid and mouthed good night.

_Good night? Oh well._

I sat on a table in a somewhat secluded corner behind a low wall, lit the candle and opened _Modern Mind Magic, from 1206 to Today. _My mind was still focused on the bookseller's curves and wet lips but I forced my focus on the book.

**_This volume lists and explain in depth every facet of Mind Magic existing._**

**_Mind Magic started with Atlantis and maybe even before but what is called Modern Mind Magic started in 1206 with the invention of the Imperius curse by Edmond Jose Potter, Lord Potter and Duke of Aquitaine. His work is still mysterious since the only documents left are parchments depicting a Nordic ritual of control and..._**

* * *

**_...and so it was ranked a XXXX-level creature by the International Confederation of Wizards. Its ability is still unexplained to most of wizards but an illegal group of Russian wizards became infamous for unraveling a number of..._**

I was cut in my studies by the girl from before. She put a large glass of bright green beverage on my table, smiling widely as ever.

"Free drinks! I choose the Evergreen Rum because it matches your eyes." she called, sitting down on the seat next to me.  
Thousands of tiny water drops were slowly dripping from the cold glass, I licked my lips. I was thirsty, very thirsty.  
"Damn, I get all dizzy when I work all night." she took a sip of my rum and stretched her back.

"Firstly, thank you, and secondly, this is my drink." I grabbed the glass from her hand and took a sip.

_Delicious, but also FUCKING HOT!_ My inexperienced throat was burning from the alcohol.

"So you really study all that stuff... What for?" she asked curiously, leaning on me to see the book.

She smelled wonderful, the rum was making me hot and dizzy. I looked at my watch.

3h02 AM.

I didn't know what to do, but I knew what I wanted.

"You don't want to tell me? Hiding secrets, I see..." she joked, squinting at me. She was close, very close.

I wanted to feel her skin on my fingers. I took another sip of the rum glass. I didn't know how to go about this so I simply did what I wanted. My hand sliding on her hip, I pulled her closer to me. My mind was blurred. I was so hot, way too hot.

She was silent, she had locked her brown eyes on mine, indecision on her face, like she was trying to figure me out. Her lips were calling me, I leaned forward and kissed her all by myself. She only returned the kiss a few seconds after.

_I can't believe it's working. I think I'm drunk too, I don't even know what's going on but I love it._

She moved onto me, her legs on each side of me, the kiss got more intense and wild. The table scrapped on the floor, pushed back.

She stopped and raised her body. She was now sitting on me and watching me with lust in her eyes. I could feel a part of my body being bigger and harder than ever, throbbing against her, I had a hand on her waist and was exploring the northern region with the other.

She grabbed the rum glass, took a big sip and poured the rum left in my open mouth. _I hope I won't pass out..._

"There, we're all alone, nobody comes in the shop at this hour." she whispered slyly, bringing her lips against mine again and sliding her hand down my chest gradually.

* * *

I uncorked the aging potion phial and took a sip. _That should keep me old for the rest of the night._

I uncorked the pepper-up potion phial and downed it. _I almost fell asleep immediately once we had finished. Can't afford to oversleep._

I looked at the sobering potion, hesitated, and let it where it was. _Being drunk feels great._

I took a glass of water and walked back to my seat, where was laying a naked witch I didn't know the name of. I sat down and flipped the pages of my book to find where I had stopped reading. The pepper up potion was already acting, I felt not really awake but not really about to sleep either.

"Back to studying, then." she said, standing up and putting her panties back on.  
"That was great. I needed that. You on the other hand, need more experience both with sex and booze." she laughed softly as she slipped her bookseller robes on.

"I'm all about learning, look - the books and all, I just need a good professor." I suggested cheekily.

"I'll keep it in mind, handsome. The name's Sherry by the way." she kissed me on the cheek.

"I'm ... err ... Harry." I said lamely. _Can't even find a fake name. Great.  
_"But call me Mr. Book." I added quickly.

She laughed once more and slid her finger down my jaw.

"Very well Mr. Book, good night." and she walked away, her delicious rear end making her robe waver at each step.

The doorbell would ring if someone entered so she was probably heading to her bed. I contemplated joining her but I shook the idea off. I had to wait for the morning to come.

4:38AM.

I couldn't focus on my studying, the pepper up, along with other things, made me too excited to read. I forced myself until five in the morning and left the library.

I was walking around in Knockturn Alley's third layer and watching various shop windows when I saw a shop called _The Untracer: Become untraceable_. It was six and half in the morning but the shop was open.

An idea in mind, I entered. The shop contained a few hats, rings, necklaces, cloaks and other weirder items. All of them had eloquent names like "The Ring of Dissimulation" or "The Cloak of Invisibility".

I waited a bit and an old witch eventually came to the counter.

"Whaddya want?" she barked.

"Tracking spell removal on my wand."

"Twenty Galleons, place money and wand on counter." she barked, walking back in the dark backroom.

When she came back, she had a tool apparently made of unicorn tail hair._ It might actually be an unicorn tail._

She started to drag the hair on my wand with her left hand and performed magic with her wand in her right hand. I couldn't hear what she was muttering but at some point she stopped and gave me my wand back.

"Removed everything, wand is pure." she took the money purse and walked off.

I walked out of the shop, examining my wand skeptically, and got back to layer one without much trouble.

I picked the chest at Borgin & Burkes without speaking a single word, the signed piece of parchment from Marvyn was enough.

I took my hood off to look less weird in Diagon Alley, entered a transportation shop at 7:30 and flooed to Hogsmeade for a few sickles. Then I waited in front of Honeydukes. The shop was large enough for me to enter and disappear, the shopkeeper would just think I went out when they weren't looking. _But I'll try to be totally unnoticed anyway._

At 8:10, the shop opened, I raced in as soon as the way was clear, when the bell ringed, I was already in the shop, racing between the candies and chocolates to reach the cellar, without making a sound.

A Dissendium later, I quickly took one of the antidote pills given with the aging potion. I shrank back and released the transfiguration on my clothes in less than 5 minutes.

I was speeding in the tunnel, grazing stalactites and watching my watch every now and then.

_8:15, counting the time to get to the dormitory, I need to hurry the fuck up!_

At 8:35, I was panting, in front of the dormitory doors, catching my breath before entering to avoid unnecessary noise. _Sure I could I have said I woke up early and show up later, but then the alibi wouldn't be perfect. Now I just need to pretend to not be sleepy or drunk._

_And the latter seems to be getting worse since my body shrank back._

_Five fucking stars plan, Harry._

I slipped in my bed without a sound, angry at myself for not having taken the sobering potion and fell asleep immediately after having put my bag in my trunk and locked it.

_In this trunk are five illegal books, three of which could probably send me to Azkaban and a chest filled with Merlin know what dark stuff._

_Five stars, Harry, five stars. _

* * *

**_AN: I forgot to mention it anywhere, but this is gonna be a dark!asshole!Harry story... kind of._**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Still wish I owned Harry Potter (no homo)._**

* * *

**.**

**Too Young to Die.**

**.**

**Chapter 4.**

**.**

* * *

"Hey sleepy head, wake up - it's ten already, you can't sleep all day even when it's the winter break." a girl voice pierced my sleep.

I opened my eyes and closed them immediately. The light was unbearable. _Oww I feel like shit. Must be what they call a hangover.  
_I yawned and stretched, ignoring the protests of my body.

There wasn't much people left in Hufflepuff. Only 8 on the 63 first and second years and very few older students stayed at the castle. In my dormitory were only left Cynthia and Sullivan. Hufflepuff dormitories were the only one with no gender separation, it was sorted by years, three dormitories of ten beds for each year.

It was bad luck to have two of them in my dormitory, but on the other hand, they would be a perfect alibi if anything happened.

I sat on my bad and watched them wait for me.

"Go ahead, I'll meet you at breakfast. I'm taking a shower."

Once they were gone and I was finally alone in the dormitory, I opened my trunk and grabbed the small chest. It was no bigger than a brick, made of black wood and golden engravings. I pocketed it and looked at my new books. I would need to disguise them if I was going to read them in the castle. I pondered for a moment on how I could disguise a book. _Hey, genius, you have the top grades in transfiguration. _

My headache was not helping me think straight. I grabbed my wand and performed a flawless transfiguration on the cover of _Obliviation Through and Through_, changing it into _Arithmancy or the Power of Numbers_.

_Perfect, that sound boring enough to prevent most of my housemates to try and take a look and at the same time I can make something up if they wonder why I study that._

I was about to get in the shower booth a few minutes later, and stopped before the mirror. I was in my small and scrawny eleven years old body again. _I couldn't handle Sherry like I did a few hours ago, hell I wouldn't even want to, I'm young again, I don't care at all about sex and girls, even after that night._

I laughed bitterly, turning the shower on. _It's nothing but a waste of time anyway._

But as I was taking a shower, I couldn't help but think that even if my body wasn't asking for it right now, it really felt great and I'd want to feel like this again soon enough. _And that's where aging potion fucks your growth up._

I dressed up and went to breakfast. The plan was simple from here, study all my books as much as possible before buying new material.

A breakfast and a bit of small talk later, I was sitting outside, on a ice-covered bench. Winter was awfully cold this year and nobody else would sit outside.

_"Outside? Have you gone nuts, Harry? It's like minus twenty out there." exclaimed incredulously Louise._

_"I'm going alone then, I don't want to sit inside all day - I like the cold anyway." I answered before going. _

_It's not even a lie, I do like the cold. _

I was now reading the book on obliviation, and it was fascinating. Skimming it quickly, I realized the volume explained everything about obliviation. Where it comes from, how to use it, how to master it, how it works, how it is countered, how it can be repaired, etc.

Five hours later, I closed the book. An insane smile on my lips.

My fingers were blue and I couldn't feel my toes. But it was worth it. _Totally worth it._

_I'd need something - someone to practice on soon. Desks won't do this time. Maybe I should ask Marvyn for a few ferrets. Eh._

* * *

Rays of light shone through the curtain's holes. The corridor bathed in the warm sunlight and was hot, even with the snow behind the walls and the frost on the thin windows. I was hidden behind the one-eyed witch statue on the third floor, watching my target.

I had five days left until the break ended. I had studied Obliviation as much as possible, casted it on Flitch's cat once and successfully made the cat forget me. _I think._

Now it was time to get to the proper training.

A real mind, a human mind. Lavender Brown.

I had selected her after a bit of research, she stayed at Hogwarts because her parents were too busy to take care of her, having important international jobs. She was a Gryffindor, I never talked to her and she wasn't overly popular or talkative from what I remember but that mattered little, since I didn't have a large choice anyway. Only a handful of Gryffindor stayed at the castle. Zach was gone back home too of course.

The corridor was empty, she was carefully walking toward me, no, toward the minotaur statue, just before my one-eyed witch secret entrance. I had sent her a anonymous flying letter at breakfast, saying that I thought she was really pretty and was too shy to talk to her in public.

And her she was, in front of the minotaur, looking around to find her date.

I didn't like what I was about to do, it was wrong. Real bad guys stuff. I thought about doing it to a Slytherin but they were too hazardous, even a first year one.

_I can't falter, I can't start thinking about good or bad. How fucked up it is anyway, if good or bad meant anything I wouldn't need to learn the obliviation curse in the first place._

I aimed my wand at her, from my dark corner, and muttered "Capperentum."

I was getting really good at casting spells with no more than a whisper. There were no paintings in this corridor, but words could travel fast in the large corridors of Hogwarts if you spoke them too loud.

The indigo stunning spell flew toward her and hit her square on the hip.

She lost her footing and fell to the ground with a brutal crack, breaking her nose on the stone tiles. _Shit I didn't think of that._

I ran out of the corner, looking frantically left and right.

I reached her. She was all bloody and moaning softly. The minor stunning spell I used didn't knock the target out, it was more like getting totally drunk and losing your ability to control your body.

"Dissendium, Evanesco, Levicorpus."

The secret passage opened, the blood on the floor vanished and I led her hovering body in the secret passage, the statue closing it behind us.

Her body wasn't in her control, she was laying on a rock, eyes half open, drooling and bleeding on her robes, her arms and legs moving slowly up and down, left and right, without any coordination.

_Messier than expected but no matter. _I lost no time.

_I need her to see me before I erase it from her memory. Rule one of the Obliviation charm: you can only erase something if the target have it in their memories. _

I didn't know her enough to erase a random thing, I needed to focus on something we both knew.

"Ennervate."

She opened her eyes fully and stumbled on her feet, bringing a hand to her broken nose.

"I'm bleeding... - who are you?" she asked before quickly drawing her wand out, eyes filled with terror.

_Why didn't I take her wand, dammit! _She saw me hesitating with my wand trained on her and attacked.

"Locomotor Wibbly!" _Is she fucking serious?_

The jelly-legs jinx hit me before I could move, I felt my legs start to wobble and fired a minor striking curse before falling.

She was running for the exit when the orange curse hit her right where I was aiming, on the knee, and dislocated it.

She fell forward at full speed, her wrist breaking on the rocky ground. Her finger skin got ripped open, she wailed like a banshee, tears flowing, clutching her destroyed hand and trying to get up at the same time.

I took this pause to gather my magic in my legs and destroy the jelly-legs jinx.

I stood up, fuming.

_God fucking DAMN IT!_

She screeched at me and grabbed her wand with her left hand. I was faster.

"Obliviate!"

The green beam of magic connected, and suddenly, I was looking at the memory of what just happened. Her point of view was terrifying, the pain and terror she experienced overthrew my control and I _fell _deeper in her memories, seeing things of her past, seeing memories that I didn't know about. Emotions and memories came so fast I couldn't see them. _I fucked up, I need to get out. _

Suddenly, I saw a way out. I saw a dark cave, illuminated by phosphorescent mushrooms and crystals, I saw blood and two shapes, one standing and the other one laying on the ground.

A big flash and I was back in my brain, seeing the scene through my eyes. I quickly recovered and took aim again, she was throwing up, still crying and bleeding. I wanted to throw up too but I refrained myself. The whole thing had taken maybe half a second.

_I focused too much on my breach in her mind, I need to focus more on what to erase._

She surprised me once more by raising her wand again, her face covered in blood and other bodily fluids, she opened her mouth but I didn't give her the time.

"Ocunuo intus!"

Twisted pleasure infiltrated my body again as she screamed even louder, letting her wand fall on the ground to reach her bleeding eyes with her valid hand.

I took a sick pause to appreciate the dark magic. _I didn't plan to do this. What the fuck am I doing, that was totally unnecessary..._

She was crawling on the rock when I casted the obliviating charm again, this time focusing on what I needed to erase.

I saw the memory in her mind again, and erased it. I could tell it was a butcher job, I left traces everywhere, but the spell ended before I could try to fix it.

Now she was silent. Still recovering from her memory loss. I obliviated her a third time, erasing all traces, it was like painting a white wall in black. I managed to fill in all the holes, got the bit about the anonymous letter too and got out.

She was slowly coming back to consciousness when I stunned her. _That should counter the pain and keep her silent._

Her face was literally covered in blood, dripping from her broken nose and eyes, it painted her face and upper body. _She's a fucking mess, she's lost way too much blood. _

I cancelled the eye-bleeding curse and vanished the blood, tears and puke on her robes and face.

_Her wrist and fingers are broken, as is her nose. I can't deal with that myself._

"Dissendium." The statue slid again, opening the way.

I came out of the hidden pathway, her body horizontally hovering behind me, I looked around and saw nobody.

I placed her on the top of the third to second floor stairway, and pushed her down.

I watched her body roll and break on the steps, her nose bleeding all over them and her members flailing as she accumulated speed. She finally hit the bottom with a sickening sound of broken ribs, moaning loudly through her almost-stunned state and I ennervated her from the top, turning and running away silently as I heard her howl in pain.

I stopped in a nearly bathroom to empty my stomach and wash my sweaty face with cold water. Then, I went in the library, wearing my mask of cool indifference. Inside, my heart was pounding like Thor's hammer in my chest. My face was hot, my mind was going well over the speed limit.

_Dammit, dammit! I fucked up big times. Calm down, calm down. Her memories are erased and her wounds are no worse than a fall down the stairs. It's just broken bones, at worst._

_She won't remember._

I took a big breath while sitting at a table far in the back._ What the fuck was that fighting spirit she showed, seriously! _

_Fucking Gryffindors._

_It's my fault, I should have taken her wand. Hell it wasn't even necessary to release her in the first place, I could have erased only the anonymous letter from her mind._

_I need to plan my shit better._

I opened a book on the card games of Scotland and started to read. It felt great to read. Even something as silly and useless as this book. _Especially_ something as silly and useless as this book.

I didn't leave the library before ten, when it closed.

* * *

"Yes, she was found on the second floor, they say she was really hurt."

I took another bite of toast and listened silently. Louise was telling everybody the last new while everybody raised their head to look at the Gryffindor table. There wasn't much people so it wasn't hard to see Lavender, laughing with her friends.

She had been brought to the infirmary soon after I pushed her down the stairs and her injuries had been healed in a few hours. At first, they had attributed her memory loss to the fall down.

"She's lost a lot of blood apparently, and since she don't really remember falling or what she was doing here, they are investigating." she finished, lowering her tone.

"Since that troll incident, they can't let anything go. But if she only fell down the stairs I don't see what's all the fuss about." commented Smith.

"They didn't vanish the blood immediately and they think there was way less on the stairs than what she lost." added Louise, still talking under her breath. "They think she was attacked by an older student, maybe she was even _raped_!"

I coughed my toast, everybody turned to me.

"Sorry, but I just don't see how you go from fall down the stairs to rape..."

"Why would anybody attack her if it wasn't for - you know what." she retorted.

_To practice, or simply to cast dark magic and feast on her pain. Damn that's really fucked up when put this way._

"Anyway, it's not hard to verify that, she's eleven." everybody looked at me weirdly.

"And how exactly do you -verify- that?" mocked Smith.

_What a bunch of morons. They have no idea what they're talking about... Even the girls look at me like I'm some weirdo._

"Not my job to teach you that, just know that it's easy to check on a young girl, and I don't think she would be laughing if she had been."

"Well anyway, she told me she had an appointment with Flitwick to check her for mind alteration. If it's a sixth or seventh year, he probably knows the obliviating curse." added Cynthia helpfully.

_Fuck. Flitwick is really good at charms, there's a possibility that he'll see my work. I need to go back in her mind and check if it's really clear._

_Maybe I'll use this thing about burying my old work with other memories, shuffling the mind. _

The book said it would throw off the scent, altering the mind two separate times on the same memory and messing a bit with the order of memories would force the mind to rebuild itself on the previously erased part, making it look natural.

_So I'm going in again, as soon as possible. If Flitwick sees my work, he'll call specialists in and the memory will be found._

The ultimate goal of the obliviating charm was to completely remove a memory and make it look like no memory was ever here. The breach would be impossible to notice and anyone looking would say there was no obliviation. The memory would be irrecoverable.

But I was no obliviation master, even if that little stunt in the cave taught me _lots_ about it, I was still new at obliviating and I was incapable of removing definitely the memory.

The best I could do was try to hide the existence of my breach in her mind.

"I forgot my book." I stood up and walked to the hall doors.

"Oh you and your books, try and get switched to Ravenclaw already." laughed Sullivan as I was walking away.

_This time, no kidnapping shit, just a quick spell when she's alone._

Sadly, she wasn't alone when she passed by me in the corridor that led to the Gryffindor tower.

"... professor Flitwick said he would come around nine, I think you can stay here, he just need to check my mind, he said it would be quick..." she was talking to two Gryffindors. I didn't know their names and I didn't care. _Once she's in her common room, I won't be able to reach her._

I had to act. I came out of my cover, made sure no painting could see me from their position, crept behind them and, from about twenty foot behind them, shot an obliviation charm at her ankle.

The charm hit, but I couldn't see anything, the memory wasn't here. _Good, that means I have hidden it successfully_. I shuffled her memories a bit, I couldn't see what I was touching, but, like having a hand in a pot, I could shuffle it.

_I'm getting the hang of this. _I decided it was enough and the spell ended. I quickly sheathed my wand and walked forward innocently.

Lavender had paused, a distant look in her eyes, for a second and shook her head before going. Her two bodyguards didn't notice anything.

But the guilt was still here. _She didn't ask for anything, she probably didn't deserve it. What if that had been Nat, how fucking mad would I be?_

_It doesn't matter, she's ok. Deal with it._

I couldn't stop feeling guilty but I could force myself to live with it.

I went to the dormitory and grabbed my disguised book on inferi creation.

The rest of the day was spent outside, in the snow, studying the different rituals needed to make various sorts of inferi. I was ready to see Aurors arrive wands drawn and to defend my freedom the best I could, I had carved a Rune of Destruction on the back of the book, ready to trigger it at any time.

Marvyn had taught me this trick when I gave him the chest and asked about similar emergency precautions. He showed me how to carve a rune, how to load it with magic and eventually trigger it.

He also told me he would contact me for the next job. _Great, now I'm his minion._

Snow started to fall on the pages I was reading. Flitwick had probably finished scanning Brown's mind at this moment. I felt Natasha's necklace on my chest, beating with my heart. _I won't let them take me, not until you're back._

No Auror disturbed me this day.

* * *

**_Occlumency is the direct opposite of Legilimency, mentioned and explained at the precedent chapter. Occlumency enables the user to defend his mind against any kind of mind magic attacks. _**

**_There is no precise explanation on how Occlumency works, being a different experience for each wizard learning it. To acquire such skill, one must seek a Master Occlumens to teach him, but few Occlumens are willing to do the job. There are Occlumency Books that will teach Occlumency to anybody reading them, see the list of such known volumes below, however, Occlumency being the best way to guard one's secrets and thoughts, to possess such a rare and powerful item is a secret anybody would guard._**

**_Occlumency can block any kind of mind magic at diverse ranges of power. While Legilimency is directly blocked, it is harder to overcome more subtle intrusions like the Obliviating charm and other Imperius curse. It is also believed that the best Master Occlumens are able to lie under veritaserum._**

I looked at the list and wondered where I was going to find one. These books seemed to be very rare and if you find one, expensive. Of course, such books were special and couldn't be copied. That would have been too easy. Most unique spell tomes were enchanted to prevent copying, but some were actually too magically complex to be copied. I had seen Pamela Laverne's book on magical creatures behavior that actually sent in your mind scenes of magical creatures in their environment when you touched the picture and spoke "show me" out loud.

"The Tome of the Why and the How, The Fortress of the Ambitious, those are funky titles..." I murmured distantly while finishing reading all the list.

_So, Occlumency is the art of closing your mind. Marvyn was doing passive Legilimency on me, that means he's pretty advanced in the domain. I'll ask him if he wants to be my teacher, he must know Occlumency._

I watched absently the Gryffindors start taking their breakfast half an hour after every other house, mind in the clouds, thinking about all I learned when I was in Lavender's mind.

_The Hat was right, I have a natural talent for mind magic, obliviation, even a messed up one, should never had brought me this deep into her memories. I think I kinda tried Legilimency too this day._

A week after the stairs accident, I felt no guilt anymore, she was well and oblivious and I learned loads about obliviation and other things.

_Like never ennervate a potential enemy without taking their wand._

"Here he does it again, even when he's with us he's not really with us!" that was Louise.

_Fucking Louise._

"I'm sorry you said something?" I asked, showing my annoyance at her.

"Yeah, I was just saying how much you stare into space these days. You're always in a book or thinking about a book." she complained dramatically, making the other laugh.

She pissed me off. She was obsessed with me, always on my back, asking what I was doing or where I was going.

"Yeah, it's true. Your point being?"

She opened her mouth to answer something stupid when Loren saved me.

"Just let him be, he's got the best grades you know, maybe you should read a book or two sometimes."

Loren actually had worst grades than Louise and that didn't slip by her.

"Want to talk about you grades? And I say whatever I want to him, you don't own him you know!" Loren blushed a bit and spat something about how Louise was only getting good grades because she licked Snape's arse and the angry exchange continued while I went back to reading the chapter on Occlumency, the rest of the page was descriptions of inner strongholds by diverse sources.

Somewhere in the fight came out a remark about Loren being my girlfriend because of how she was always protecting me and making things up for me when I just wanted to be alone. She was redder than the strawberry jam on her toast and answered something about Louise being jealous of her.

I pretended not to hear to avoid the whole thing and my mind drifted to the closest thing as a girlfriend I ever had, Sherry.

I thought about her every now and then, remembering more the incredible ambiance of that night, the drunkenness and the arousal I was experiencing than her. I didn't really want to touch her skin again, I didn't really want to penetrate her warm body neither.

What I was yearning for was to be in that state again, to feel _the need_ to fuck her again.

_I need a book on Occlumency anyway, maybe I'll drop by the bookshop and see what can be done when I'll be out._

Occlumency had became top priority on my list, I had secrets to hide and the Hat warned me about Legilimens. The fact that Marvyn, a sixth year, could do it was terrifying. I would need that book as quickly as possible.

Louise and Sullivan left the table, the argument was over. Loren was fuming, still red. I fetched my notebook and wrote in the "Marvyn" page he enchanted for me.

**_Today._**

He would write back to say at what hour he was free and where I would go to meet him.

I closed my notebook and looked at Loren, who was angrily destroying fried eggs with her fork.

"Thank you, she was really annoying." I smiled and took her hand. Loren was nice, she respected my freedom and I really liked her. Enough reasons to become closer to keep her on my side if something happened. _I'll need a girlfriend eventually, might as well chose the nice one right at the start._

She breathed in heavily, all anger draining from her face, leaving her only red with embarrassment, and looked away shyly, muttering a very hard to hear "thatsnothingnoproblem".

_She really do like me_. I went back in my book, the next page exposed a number of Occlumency tricks to protect one's mind with only the smallest control of Occlumency.

* * *

I was sitting in History of Magic lesson with professor Christopher. We had him for half the lessons and a ghost, professor Binns, for the other half. While Binns had a reason to be boring (he was a ghost after all), Mr. Christopher should have been at least aware of the class while he was doing his lesson.

But he wasn't. He was reading a History book monotonously, without even looking up to see the mess in front of him. Everybody was talking, laughing or sleeping. I always took the seats on the last row so I could read with nobody in my back. The kind of literature I was into wouldn't do well being discovered. I was dividing my attention between my book and Loren, who was giving me her best insane tales and myths.

"And so the knight was turned into a dragon. A black dragon. So he went and fought the other dragon, fire against fire, claws and fangs against hide and scales, and finally slew it. He went back to town to find Angus the Sorcerer to get transformed back, and as he approached the doors, he saw the townsmen grabbing spears and crossbows in a panicked crowd."

She was moving her arms all over the place and mimed the scenes excitingly.

"Why didn't he plan that in advance with Angus? It was pretty evident the townspeople wouldn't let a dragon in."

"Yeah well back in the days, they didn't plan everything like today, they just did stuff that needed to be done." she explained, shrugging.

Suddenly, my ear caught something from Christopher's mouth.

"... wrote a book called The Diary of Hellard the Tempestuous, titled after his name, a very famous book containing all his knowledge about an obscure branch of magic he mastered along with Elemental Magic. The diary is classified as one of the one thousand most precious magical tomes in the world and currently owned by the famous collector Albert Zabini and exhibited in the Zabini Museum in London."

_The Diary of Hellard the Tempestuous... I heard that before!_ I flipped frenetically the pages of my book to find the list of Occlumency books again and slid my finger down until it pointed on The Diary of Hellard the Tempestuous, created by Hellard himself in 1520.

I wasn't even listening to Loren anymore, my mind was racing at full speed._ Exhibited at the Zabini Museum in London? I can get to it, I can steal it. _

"Blaise Zabini was the last student sorted at the sorting ceremony, he was ..." I muttered, lost in my thoughts.

"Slytherin." she helped suddenly, visibly amused at my sudden change of behavior, "What about him? Did you somehow link the black dragon tale to him?"

"The professor just talked about him - a museum or something."

"Oh? I didn't listen."

Ernie McMillan, located on the row just before us, turned around.

"The Zabini museum is owned by his grandfather, it's not a big museum but it has a few very rare pieces. Other thing I know about the Zabinis is that Blaise has had seven fathers, and they all died suspiciously - his mother got all their money each time." he winked and turned back to talk with the row in front of him.

I turned to Loren, who turned to me.

"If I ever marry someone, remind me this story as I write my will." I said seriously. She giggled and promised. Then she launched us in a conversation about strategies at exploding snap.

"It's easy to take the lead if you skip a turn every four turns, especially if you sit just before the dealer, the risk ratio is still less than five on ten at this point and you still win more points than if you skip every third turn. Even if you called an exploding card right, the multiplier plays in your advantage. The average point raking is higher on more than thirty turns." I explained, while my thoughts were turned on something a bit more risky than skipping turns late in Exploding Snap, when most first years didn't even skip turns.

_The Zabini Museum in London. I'll go in as a visitor and come out as a thief. A museum is sure to be heavily warded against thievery but if it's a small one, I might have my chances. First step, visit it once and see what I can see. Second step, think about how being pal with Blaise could help me and take care of it. Third step, formulate an attack plan. Fourth step, get the book. I'll have all summer, James and Lily won't lock us in this year, and if they try, I'll just escape._

The first two steps of my plan had to be done before the summer break, I had months available but becoming Zabini's friend could prove harder than any on the other steps. _Too bad my magic is still too young to even try the Imperius curse._

* * *

"Could I be excused, professor? I need to go to the bathroom." I inquired, raising politely my hand. McGonagall raised an eyebrow.

"You may leave only if you have finished your practical work, Mr. Potter, this is no vacation." she answered with a strict smile.

I took my wand out_, this is not the moment to hold back, Marvyn is already waiting for me. _I aimed at the rabbit on her desk, an animal way larger than the mice we had to change in matchboxes and transfigured it. She had used the rabbit to show the two classes sitting in the amphitheater how it's done without having them squint to see the mouse. It was now a finely engraved umbrella stand, made of pure steel and gold. Yep, I was really good at transfiguration, but anyway the first year stuff was just too easy, to set every student at the same level.

Surprised and pleased, she awarded three points to Hufflepuff and let me go to the bathroom, under applauding of course. Sometime it just felt good to show off and shut her mouth.

I distinguished Marvyn at our usual meeting spot, the isolated bench in the far away west yard. I came to him and greeted him politely.

"Hello to you too Potter, now if you would hurry and explain what is this about, I don't have all day."

"Very well, I'll be brief. Can you teach me Occlumency?" If he could, I wouldn't have to go through the trouble of getting the Diary of Hellard. That would give me time to study something else this summer. _How to raise the dead, for instance._ Even if I wasn't very comfortable with the idea of Marvyn teaching me something as crucial and touchy, I couldn't be delusional and think anyone else would be less dangerous. Even the book could be as hazardous.

He chuckled softly for a few second and finally answered, shaking his head.

"I don't know Occlumency, Potter. It is a very obscure branch of magic and very difficult to learn, provided you find a mentor in the first place. The few books that teach it are either lost, hidden or owned by powerful wizards who keep them for their own bloodline. I intend to learn it eventually, after I graduate, but no, I can't teach you."

_Why did I assume he knew Occlumency anyway, he was only reading my mind the other day - and Legilimency is way more common and easier to learn according to my books. The museum break in it will be then, Merlin help me._

"Okay, I'll manage something on my own then. Do you by any chance know Zabini junior? I would like to meet him."

"I don't do dating services, Potter, skip to the point if you have one." he was obviously getting impatient.

"I'm sorry, I'll speak to him on my own. Thank you for having answered my call." I bowed slightly and got up.

"If it's for boring requests like these, next time write them on your enchanted notebook or I won't bother showing up, Potter, you're rapidly becoming tiresome." He added, still sitting legs crossed on the bench "Don't force me to spice our association up, you won't like it." he was now grinning viciously, I could hear it in his tone. I shivered and walked away.

_Might have to take care of him before he becomes really dangerous. I already know that he doesn't have any Occlumency shields, obliviation would totally work._ I displayed a grin of my own. _Two can play this game, Mr. Darden._

* * *

The chill air of London was soothing my body, I was walking fast, striding even, through the lively streets, my dark cloak and robes went unnoticed thank to a Notice-Me-Not charm I was getting really good at, since I often had it on in Hogwarts. The muggle vehicles were gliding on the wet road, making this distinct sound of the rubber on the watery asphalt and projecting droplets of water on the pavements. Rain was falling on London, as always. I moved through the crowd, trotting quickly and bumping in a good number of muggles and eventually reached the stone archway between a muggle bookshop and bank. The archway was wide and deep, hidden from muggles, it was the entrance to Idea Alley. A massive magical boulevard that contained many places of interest and shops, along with the most expensive magical apartments of the United Kingdom.

A breeze of wind entered the archway, making a loud echoing sound and shook the lanterns hooked to the top, adding a chimes-like sound to it. I entered it, and felt the tingle of the wards as I went forward. Eventually, I came out and found myself in the famous boulevard. The first thing to catch my attention was the huge building thirty or so yards from me, on the right.

The entrance was the very definition of majestic. Countless lights and colorful bills decorated the walls around the thick red carpet - adorned with representations of gryffins, manticores, dragons and such in golden thread - that covered half the street. None of this would ever get dirty or wet, in fact, the whole boulevard was perfectly clean - compared to the muggle street I just went through, it was godhood. On top of the entrance was written in big, stylish, moving and glowing characters_ TONIGHT: A Witch Remedial For A Lady's Curse, Starring Helena Kohar and Jun Guo._

I walked past the theater and the mesmerizing poster depicting a witch brewing a pink potion in a gold cauldron and winking at the spectator, and spotted the building I was looking for on the other side of the street, a bit further up the boulevard. It was indicated _Zabini Museum_, on a simple golden plate. I entered the hall and walked to the ticket office. The place was empty. The clerk took my five galleons and let me in.

The room was long and rectangular, magical artifacts lay on cushions and tables, without any kind of protection. I looked around and saw only two wizards admiring a jeweled silver shield, I brought my recently-purchased wardbreaker scope to my eye. Wardbreaker scopes rendered a certain range of wards visible in the form of light threads and colours, but only a true wardbreaker could tell what they meant. It was almost useless to an amateur like me but it at least gave an idea of how much wards there were and how they were linked to the place.

I watched the different coloured light threads starting from the center of the ceiling, they were spreading like a spider web, coating the place with yellow, orange and a light blue mist. Orange threads were linked to each item in the room, and to two doors, the entrance and a closed door labeled "private". _Picking anything up would trigger something related to the door. I'd get trapped in._

I pocketed the scope and started thinking, pretending to be watching a wand. _I could try and blast through the walls but they're probably adamantine-reinforced wall, with a huge resistance to magic. I could try to hide in there under Zach's invisibility cloak but the light blue mist all over the place looked like it wasn't linked to anything, most likely a detection ward that will activate when they need to and rat me out. And the yellow threads all over the walls are obviously the anti-apparition ward._

I knew very few about adamantine, but it was widely renowned for its resistance to any direct magic attack. It was only possible to destroy it the muggle way. The shopkeeper had explained me how Gringotts was full of it when I had bought this tiny little adamantine phial that contained my sister's last drops of blood, hanging around my neck at this very moment, cohabiting with her necklace. _I can't afford to lose that, no matter what happen._

According to what he said, my body would be obliterated before anything can lay a scratch on that phial.

I didn't have much knowledge on wards, I would never be able to break them or remove an object from their grasp without studying them for years. _So, yellow for anti-apparition, blue for detection and maybe even incapacitation, and orange as trigger set up on every item._ I was now standing next to the private door. "Do not touch the door - emergency measures will be triggered and you will receive a 50 galleons fine." _The orange ward on the private door triggers as much as it locks... You'd need to be keyed into the wards to access it. That means that if I find someone that has the authority to open this door, I can use him to pick the diary up._

While I was considering the embryo of a plan that was born in my mind, I reached the Diary of Hellard the Tempestuous. It was a small leather diary, on its cover was carved a circle and a multitude of arrows pointing to the center, under it was carved the words "For a Secure Psyche and Unreachable Secrets." I was tempted to open it but I refrained.

**_Hellard the Tempestuous stored a piece of his own mind in his diary to make it intelligent and able of helping anyone feeding magic to it. This artifact is considered one of the most precious books in the world. Item is not for sale and can possibly be loaned, contact Mr. Zabini for more information._**

**_Hellard the Tempestuous was known for killing anyone who stood in his way, ruthlessly and with no small measure of sadism. He was one of the most powerful wizards of his time with his mastery of Elemental Magic, he died at the hand of a group of Mage Knights under the order of Count Vlasis. The legend declares that Hellard killed the brother of Count Vlasis in a werewolf hunt, out of spite, using Elemental Magic. The brother would have been disintegrated with a violent use of ice and fire, making such a sudden temperature change that he exploded in a billion tiny pieces. Following this event, Count Vlasis would have used of his political influence to obtain a squad of Mage Knights and send them to track down and eliminate Hellard. Only one would had survived the skirmish and he reported that Hellard died burning in fiendfyre. The body has never been found, burnt to ashes by the demonic fire. Some believed he was not dead and Hellard became a myth, supposedly lurking somewhere in the world and killing at will. Many unresolved death had been imputed to Hellard in the next few decades, in spite of him being officially dead._**

I finished reading and admired the diary itself, according to this plate, it was a gem of magic. The loaning part was interesting but it was probably way too expensive, even if I managed to get Mr. Zabini to lend it to me, which was a challenge on its own. A fifteen years old without any identity or an eleven years old Potter boy. I couldn't decide which had less chances. _And once I'd ask for it, stealing it would be madness. I need to be subtle, invisible, inexistent._

I would get secretly friendly with Blaise -or at least as friendly as possible- and try to get information on who could access this door. _I could end up torturing him if there's no other way. _

I watched the other items for a couple of hours and got out of the museum, and exited Idea Alley, with only one thing in my mind. I was going to see Sherry again. And maybe get a couple books but that was secondary.

* * *

"I know it's hell to be bad in potions when you're a Slytherin, Snape can be a bitch to the other houses but I don't want to imagine how he is to his own house students in private."

"So you're proposing to help me, a Slytherin. I'm no Hufflepuff tool, Potter, you want something from me." retorted Blaise strongly.

"I do, but we can deal with that later, for the moment I'm only proposing to help you with your potion problem, in exchange I ask nothing." I answered simply.

"I don't promise anything, Potter, but I accept the offer. I heard you were the best in potions, easily second year level, probably more." he declared, whispering, "But I can't let it known that I'm being tutored, even less by a Hufflepuff, even a special one like you."

"A special one like me? Care to elaborate?" I didn't know what he meant, but it could be bad.

"A group of first years were plotting pranks one evening in the Slytherin common room, and one eventually suggested doing something to the brother of the Boy-Who-Lived. The Slytherin prefect, present in the room, warned them about you. His exact words were _Pro tip, you don't want to fuck with Harry Potter_. And then he smiled and said that we were free to try, but none of us missed the message, Potter." he was now uncomfortably close. "You are no standard Hufflepuff, no Potter as ever been Hufflepuff. Lots of Slytherins, lots of Gryffindors, a few Ravenclaws, but no Hufflepuff."

"I'm the exception that proves the rule, the Hat actually told me that." I answered coolly, shrugging. _Not exactly this rule, but whatever._

As we were agreeing on hours to meet, I thought about my plans for the next months until summer. I had three months left to get the information I needed. In the meantime, I couldn't afford starting with Necromancer stuff, if someone were to read my mind, that would be a one way ticket to Azkaban, so I'll take this time studying schoolwork and the few books I had bought the last time I went to Hyacinth's Haven. Dark combat spells and magical torture. I really didn't want to come to that, but I needed to be able to if necessary.

* * *

I watched Zabini sprinkle the magnesium powder in the Cat-Eyes Mixture. It stayed on the surface for a few seconds and sank in. Zabini lost no time and killed the fire just a second before the silvery potion turned into a lavender blue one with a bright flash.

"That was perfect Zabini. I think you really got it now." I clapped my hands, happy.

I had been tutoring Zabini for three months, once every week. His grades in potions gradually went up and he told me Snape actually asked him to stay after class once to praise his efforts and encourage him to stay on that path. _Heh, if he knew..._

The main problem with potions and the reason very few students were good at it was that you needed to _sense_ the brew, you needed to smell it, to watch it and to react accordingly. It wasn't just **_add two sliced slugs and stir counter-clockwise three times_**, it was **_add about two slug -give or take a half-, cut in pieces -slices or cubes, according to what you want exactly- and when you feel like the slugs have touched the bottom, stir counter-clockwise about three times -give or take a turn, according to the speed and strength you use._**

No one understood that because potions professors didn't feel like it was important, by following simply the book, you'd get a mediocre potion for sure. And that was all they asked from students. Zabini, however, had a talent for following the instructions at the letter but ruining the potion anyway, so I had taught him the subtlety of potion brewing and all I knew about how brews generally reacted to what ingredients and such.

I was good thanks to Lily's amazing library, that and my own interest in the subject.

"Yes, I supposed the magnesium would act like the phosphorus and cut the fire before the reaction, was it necessary?"

"You supposed right, the magnesium would have burnt faster if the fire had stayed lit, and then, the potion would have been less efficient in terms of visibility. I'd call that an A-class Cat-Eye Mixture, no less." I answered with a smile, it felt actually nice to help someone to become better at something.

"I'm really grateful for the help you provided me Harry, but now it's time for you to tell me what you want. You've done all of this for a purpose, so let me hear it at last." he solicited with a smile of his own. We had grown quite friendly, I actually liked him, he was truly intelligent, that was a day and night change from my fellow Hufflepuffs. They were nice and comfortable to be with, but Merlin they were such idiots sometimes.

"Very well. I already told you of my interest in History of Magic and everything that relates to wizarding art, relics and such." I had indeed invented this little story to make him more comfortable with my request.  
"Well I already visited the Zabini museum and I wondered if there was some way to get a glance in the private room." I paused, scanning him for a betrayed face or anything, and seeing no apparent reaction, I finished my request, "So I thought that being Zabini, you might help me with that. All I ask is an hour in the private room to see everything and that's it."

"Well, you sure helped me well... It would only be normal for me to help you." _But?  
_"I can get you in the private room, it's actually a storage room, heavily protected with wards and such but I'm keyed in the wards as a Zabini, I can open the door for you." he paused, thinking.  
"If you don't touch anything, it should go unnoticed, not that my grandpa would really be mad at me anyway." he smiled and clapped his hands. "It's a deal, I help you with that and we're even."

I couldn't help but grin widely, I even wanted to let an evil laugh out but refrained. _I can't believe it's going to be so easy, all I have to do is use Blaise to pick up the diary and leave, he's keyed in the orange ward, the triggers won't set off. Then I obliviate him and it's over. Nobody ever saw us being together, he kept it secret even from his housemates, nobody will ever suspect me._

I shook his hand, too happy to feel guilty about what I planned to do to him, and started to put the ingredients back in my trunk, which had followed me in the unused classroom.

"Wow, you really love magical artifacts, I've never seen you smile like that." I saw his smile but I knew he was suspicious, that was the Slytherin instinct.

"I am, you clearly don't realize how amazing is your grandfather's collection, even the less popular items are fascinating to me." I closed my trunk in a loud clap, followed by the sound of the locking mechanism.

"So, what day? I am free anytime." _I learned enough battle magic and dark spells to handle a first year, I'm ready to do it._

"I don't know, send me an owl during summer and we'll see." he waved and exited the room.

"Got it, have a good summer, Blaise."

I walked out after a few minutes, my trunk following me.

_A year. Not exactly. Ten months have passed since she died. _I had thought about her throughout the year, but not as much as I thought I would. _Am I deviating from my plan too much? Have I forgotten my promise? I don't think I did, everything I did was in order to eventually bring her back. I need to protect my mind before I start going really deep into the matter._

_But fucking the bookseller didn't serve any purpose, except for my own satisfaction. Laughing, having fun and getting all cozy with Loren didn't either, I don't need her to be the perfect Hufflepuff everybody sees. _

Thinking about this brought a smile on my face. _No, I can't blame myself for that, I lost too much time studying unimportant stuff, that is the only problem here. Having fun is alright as long as it doesn't obstruct my path to the finale._

_A full year and what did I learn? Enough about inferi to know that it doesn't fit my needs, enough about golem to know that I'll need a shitload of rituals to make her a new body, a load of dark magic that has nothing to do with necromancy and nothing about Occlumency. _

I started to get angry, I felt my spirit getting warmer as I thought about it.

_It's true, I lost too much fucking time. I need to step it up or it'll take me my whole life. _I didn't actually care about spending all my life to resurrect Natasha, but I wanted to do it the soonest possible. I missed her.

My good mood had been crushed in the ten seconds it took me to review my first year in Hogwarts. I was lost in my dreams of golem creation rituals when I heard someone call my name. I shook my head and turned around.

Professor McGonagall was striding toward me, visibly alarmed.

"Mr. Potter, come with me." she instructed quickly, I had never seen her so worried over anything. Even when Sullivan had somehow transfigured Susan's leg into a pickaxe while trying to change a beetle in a sickle.

I grabbed my wand in my pocket and prepared myself to attack, my first spell would be the obscure Serbian dark perforation curse, _Kroz Sve_, aimed at her wand hand. I had a hard time pronouncing and learning it but it was a good compromise between power and exhaustion, even with my weak eleven years old magic muscle I could cast it quite a lot. I had started to sweat immediately. _I have no chances against McGonagall, it's suicide._

"What is going on, professor McGonagall?" I asked warily, still one inch away from assaulting her.

"It's your brother, Zachary. Don't worry, he will be okay. Headmaster Dumbledore sent me to fetch you." she was walking as fast as ever, she sent a quick glance to me, I tried to change my relieved expression to a concerned one but was too late, "He got into a dangerous position, your parents have been notified and will arrive in a minute, Headmaster Dumbledore thought you'd like to see him." she explained, watching me strangely.

I sheathed my wand and focused on acting like I was meant to. _But how the fuck am I supposed to react? I don't even understand what's going on._

McGonagall brought me to the hospital wing, where I found Dumbledore and Snape discussing in a corner. In front of them were the hospital beds and in one of those beds was Zachary. Next to him were Ron and Hermione, watching me come to them. _So, he got hurt somehow, do I have anything to do with that? _I scanned my mind to find something that could link me to that_. Marvyn. He better have not fucked up._

McGonagall dropped me here and walked to Dumbledore and Snape. I approached Zach's bed.

"Sup." was all that came to my mind. I had nothing to say to him and I couldn't bring myself to care about his health, he looked healthy anyway.

"Hey Harry. I told them you wouldn't have minded seeing me in a coma." he smiled feebly.

"What are you talking about?" I literally had no idea of what was going on.

Hermione answered for him.

"Zachary was in a coma during three days, he only woke up now." she sobbed before bursting into tears and throwing herself on Zach to cry in his hospital garments. "We were so worried." she helpfully explained between two sobs.

"Oh well, we all have to go through that once don't we?"

She turned to me with a confused look.

"What do you mean?"

"Still not telling them, eh Zach?" I laughed.

"Dumbledore knows, and that's why he didn't want you to see me in that condition, until I woke up." he said seriously, "But whatever, I think you're right, it's time for me to tell them." he smiled proudly.

"Great, tell hello to James and Lily, or not, I don't care." I was angry, I didn't know why, I wanted to punch them all in the throat. "Good night." I walked off. The three professor had moved a bit further and didn't see me leave. I couldn't say why I got so pissed. _Probably the fact that my project is going slow as fuck and they make me lose time and focus on shit like this. I don't fucking care about Zach, he can die in his own vomit for all I care._

Too angry to attend the end of term feast without ruining my image of friend to my housemates, I spent the evening in the owlery studying and feeding Hedwig.

* * *

**_AN: That's it for today, don't forget to review. I'd like to hear what you guys think so far, especially about the pacing._**


	5. Chapter 5

_**I used to own Harry Potter but since I woke up I don't anymore. **_

* * *

**.**

**Too Young to Die.**

**.**

**Chapter 5.**

**.**

* * *

"Do you have a pet?"

"I do have a dog, but how is this related to anything?"

"Obliviate."

I felt every memory related to her dog being erased, one by one. When I was done, she had that typical blank look on her face.

"Do you have a pet?"

"No."

"Did you ever have one?"

"No."

"That will be enough, thank you a lot for your cooperation."

I walked away from my twentieth "surveyed" muggle and headed back, this was enough, I was pretty confident with my Obliviating charm after all this training.

Since Zach has been exposed to the real world at Hogwarts, there was no longer any reason to keep him locked inside, so now we were authorized to go out if we wanted. Zach needed to explain where he went and what he was doing but for me it was unnecessary. _And thanks Merlin for that because if I had to speak with them every time I go out, I would end up cursing them._ I had spent most of my first week of summer reading in parks and training on muggles. I had to stay subtle though, Aurors were always on the look-out for major muggle abusing cases.

I mounted the scooter I had stolen from a muggle and drove back. The motorized muggle vehicle was quite easy to use and with a few well placed momentum charms, it could go almost as fast as an average broom. The advantage over a broom was of course the non effect it had on muggles. James and Lily wouldn't ask any question about it, they just didn't care. _And if Zach asks, I'll tell him I bought it_. I could actually have bought it but stealing from muggles was so damn easy.

I had been stopped once by a police officer and a single weak confusion charm had been enough to evade any problem. At first I had thought I'd need to find a way to remove the Trace - the Ministry's tracking charm on underage wizard's wands - but then I remembered I had already done it back in my first trip to Knockturn Alley and congratulated myself for this foresight.

I parked the heavy thing against a bush and entered the house by the back entrance.

_Tonight is the night, I'm getting that damn diary. _I hadn't that much of a plan but with Blaise in my grasp, I hoped it would go smoothly. _Only thing missing is that invisibility cloak... I'll steal it just for the night, he won't notice._

I had asked Zach to give me the cloak, I had thought I could put pressure on him, manipulate him, use his weak resistance to emotions - but he proved stronger than expected. _It was a mistake to let him get friends and build confidence, I should have come for it right after Natasha died._

After this story of Voldemort coming back to life and this episode with the not-so-lame professor Quirrel, who actually was possessed by the undead Dark Lord, James had started giving lessons to Zachary.

Combat, tracking, tactics, leadership, broom riding, everything James was good at.

James had rejected the Head Auror position after the war, to raise Zachary, he was one of the best Aurors in the department. I could have used a bit of training too but he expressly turned me down when I simply proposed to watch them training. The training was only for the one who would have to fight one day: Zachary Potter, The Survivor.

I was climbing the stairs when I ran into her. _Oh please not her._

Zach's friends sometimes visited him at home, and I always managed to not be here. But this time, it looked like I had failed.

"Oh, hello." she greeted coldly.

I smiled like I was genuinely happy to see her bushy head and responded politely.

"Hello to you, Hermione." I started climbing the rest of the stairs when she grabbed my shoulder, making me turn around.

"Actually, Harry, I'd like to speak to you about something important."

I was starting to get slightly annoyed at her rudeness but kept smiling. _Smiling is not that hard, or is it?_

"Unfortunately, I don't have much time, maybe another time?" I offered, taking a step up.

"Well, you _will_ listen to me, Harry." her face changed from cold to angry in a blink, "Zachary told us everything about that terrible accident and your sister." I felt the heat drain from my blood.  
"We understood that you were quite close but it was _an accident_, Harry. And Zachary feels really guilty about it, it's really not necessary for you to insist and bring it up to make him uncomfortable. Look, I know you're not cruel and you do that only because you need someone to blame, but you have to stop. Zachary needs a brother, not an enemy. And you do as much. Your disinterest concerning our dangerous adventure against Quirrel was mean, Harry - You didn't even ask how he was when you visited him! Do you realize he almost died?"

By the time she finished spewing her bullshit, I was seething. My polite mask had held until I opened the mouth to answer.

I pinned her against the wall, my forearm buried in her throat, and whispered with the tiniest amount of anger I could manage to let out in my furious state:

"What do you know about me? What the _fuck_ do you know about me and Zach? Not cruel because I was sorted Hufflepuff? Or not cruel because I'm the brother of the _fucking Savior of Light_? Listen to me you filthy piece of unwanted garbage, if you do so much as to try convincing me that I should be more friendly to my brother again, I'll rip your nipples off and glue them to your eye sockets with the Permanent Sticking Charm." I released her and watched her collapse on the ground, gasping for air and coughing loudly.  
"Zachary fucking killed my sister and he should be happy enough with me not transfiguring his bed in a pool of magma during his sleep." I spat finally before climbing the stairs again.

As I was calming down, I considered obliviating her but then the message would be lost, and I couldn't afford to get so mad at her every time. _I nearly lost control just now..._

And if she was going to tell on me, well whatever, I'm only a perturbed eleven years old. My threats over another eleven years old are no important business whatsoever.

I read the clock on my wall, it was five in the afternoon and my visit to the museum was planned at seven, when most of the people would be eating. I had sent an owl to Blaise from Diagon Alley, a few days prior, and he had replied positively to my rendezvous proposition. I had quickly explained him I had an invisibility cloak so we would be totally incognito and he wouldn't have to worry about his grandfather asking question, he had answered that it was indeed a good idea.

I cast a small eavesdropping charm at the thin wall separating my room to Zachary's one, forming a small discolored area on the pastel purple paint, and placed my ear against it. I had two hours to get the cloak. My plan was to enter the museum with Blaise and once inside, force him to grab the diary and come out. But if the clerk saw us enter the museum, I would have to obliviate him too. And that was too risky, if there happened to be other people in the hall at this moment, I wouldn't be able to. The superior version of that plan was to sneak in the museum with Blaise using the cloak, and get out the same way with the diary in Blaise's hand and my wand on his neck.

"...no, I never thought he would be Hufflepuff, but with the accident and my sister... it's believable, you know, when I said they were always together, I meant they were _always_ together, and losing her must have been harder for him than for me..."

It looked like Hermione didn't tell them what happened in the staircase but instead was fishing for information about me. _Great._

I was waiting for something like "Hey, why don't we all get out of the room to do something!" to finally get that damn cloak, but it didn't look like it was about to come.

"Don't you think he could be in Hufflepuff only to hide his... dark side?" hesitated a girl voice.

"Nah, you can't manipulate the Sorting Hat, if he's in Hufflepuff, that mean he's a true Hufflepuff." affirmed another voice, probably Ron's.

"I know he's pretty smart, he was always reading books with my sister and he always understood stuff faster than me when we were young." replied Zach. _Sure did, you're nothing but a spoiled kid - me, on the other hand, I had to grow up in this fucking family, I had to survive.  
_"And he's probably fairly powerful, everyone is in the Potter line. I don't think I ever heard of a Hufflepuff Potter by the way... But he doesn't have a dark side, Hermione, and if he did, like Ron said, I'm sure the Hat wouldn't allow him anywhere else than Slytherin." he finished, sounding like he barely believed his own words.

"So why Hufflepuff? I don't imagine him mourning his sister and crying in his bed, he's the best Hufflepuff first year and I'm sure he holds back, do you remember when he transfigured that rabbit in the umbrella stand?"

"Was that the time you didn't stop raving about it for three weeks? Yeah, that rings a bell." teased Ron.

"I talked with him about it, Hermione, and I think Hufflepuff is the house he needs. Maybe not the one he belongs to but the one he needs to forget her."

I punched the wall, making it shake weakly with a loud bang. _Forget her? FORGET HER? You fucking cunt!_

I fell back in my bed and reconsidered my decision to not kill Zach, staring angrily at my ceiling. Someone knocked on my door, I casted a quick _Finite _on my eavesdropping charm and watched Zach open the door.

"What was that noise?"

"What noise? I didn't hear anything." I lied, focusing on my facial expression.

"Nevermind, let's go guys." he turned to Ron and Hermione, who was doing her best to not look at me in the eyes and closed my door. I heard them climb the stairs down.

I jumped out of my bed, exited my room, sneaked in Zach's lair and looked around. Quidditch posters covered every available space on the walls, most of them charmed to stay still - it would drive anyone crazy to live in a bunch of moving pictures. I scanned the room and spotted his trunk, near the desk. It was opened, half of its content scattered in the room and the other half still inside. _If I had a cloak to hide, where would I hide it? _I grinned.  
Our trunks were the same model, it came with a secret compartment triggered by a password. And I knew my brother's password, thanks to his lack of discretion when the trunk seller had configured them.

"Open Sesame." _Very original by the way, dickface._

The hidden compartment sprouted, offering me a handle to pull. I pulled it and revealed its inside, where was laying the wonderful shiny, silvery cloth, gleaming with the sunlight that beamed from the windows. I took it, feeling it for the first time in my life, the watery texture was incredible, it was soft and slippery, as if it tried to escape my grasp.

I forced myself out of my reverie and stuffed it in my satchel, closing the secret compartment with the same stupid password, rolling my eyes: "Close Sesame.".

I went back to my room and decided to depart immediately. Waiting at home served no purpose, it was even an unnecessary risk. I grabbed the scooter's keys and looked around my room, trying to see what I could have forgotten, seeing nothing, I opened my window and jumped in our backyard.

I started the engine - _muggle devices are really incredible sometimes _- and drove to the nearest magical town. Leaving from somewhere else than Godric's Hollow was meant to shuffle my tracks a bit, if someone were to try and retrace my path.

I reached Griningham Croft after a few minutes, which I spent appreciating slaloming between muggle cars on the road. I parked the scooter on a parking lot and walked to the road, putting my dark cloak on and covering most of my face with a band of cloth. I wasn't using any aging potion tonight, so I'd have to be extra careful not to be recognized, not that people knew about me, but so they would have nothing on me if someone were to ask them. "A dark cloaked small guy" was still better than "A little kid, maybe 12 years old, with green eyes and messy raven hair".

I took my wand out and waved it over the road, standing on the pavement.

At first, nothing happened, but suddenly, a loud bang shook the ground and a three-stories bus literally spurted out of the void and landed on the road, making a loud screeching noise as the tires bit the asphalt. The incredible vehicle drifted, wobbling dangerously, for a few feet and stopped dead. I heard the soft jingling of the cooling bus as I walked to the front access, the enchanted metal still faintly glowing from the heat and magic it went through.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wi-" started the annoying teenage driver.

I stopped him by handing him a piece of paper that read "Idea Alley" along with a handful of sickles. I wasn't about to reveal my soon to be twelve years old beautiful voice. He looked at it, nodded and started the bus again without giving me a second glance. _At least he knows when to leave people be._

A few minutes later, I was in Idea Alley, under the invisibility cloak, waiting for Blaise near the museum. There were a lot of Aurors in the streets, I even saw a wizard protected by two Mage Knights, there probably was an important event in the area.

Mage Knights were the most dangerous things in the world, they were wizards who had gone through body enhancing rituals to be stronger, faster and many other things like blood regeneration and such. Those rituals were forbidden for the citizens, but the Ministries still used them to serve their own purposes. Most of the rituals were dark, and very dangerous.

The first Mage Knights were born in the Middle-Age, when a knight was not strong enough to beat a cockatrice his king ordered him to slay. He then asked an enchanter to enchant his weapons and armor, but also his body, so he could strike harder and run faster. The ritual on the knight failed and he died, but the enchanter decided that the idea was good and enchanted his own body, being certain he could handle it. The rituals worked and he killed the cockatrice with his enhanced capacities. He then became a full time magical warrior for the king and the other kings got their own Mage Knights. Since this day, Mage Knights were a special brand of wizards, dangerously strong and fast, their thick metallic armor weighted tons and could take much damage before breaking, their weapons were unbreakable and razor-sharp, sometimes even imbued with fire, lightning or other destructive effects.

Now our days, Mage Knights were mostly the Ministry's special intervention forces and mercenaries. There were some weaker than other, but their mere presence would dissuade one to attack anything in the area.

Having two of them as bodyguards was really over-the-top if you were anything else than a minister.

Zabini got here just as I was admiring the sword of one of the Mage Knights, covered with runes. He sat on the bench, as we had agreed previously.

"Time to get it rolling." I whispered, placing my hand on his shoulder.

He jumped a bit at my contact and nodded, standing up. I quickly dragged him in my cloak, hiding him from the world.

"Hello, Harry, that's a very nice cloak, where did you get it?"

"Family heirloom, let's go." I answered shortly, shaking his hand.

We got to the museum with very few chatting on the way and walked through the hall and the museum entrance.

"I wouldn't have believed it if someone told me I'd sneak in my grandfather's museum without paying." he whispered, grinning at the idea.

I didn't respond, I was starting to get stressed, I looked around in the museum, there were a few people here and there, but the place was big enough to stay incognito.

"Here's the storage's room." he designed the private door. _Oh right, I told him I needed him to get through that door._

_Well too bad, mate, but I came for something else._

"Iocatio." a small glowing band appeared in the air in front of Zabini's dumbfounded look and plunged on his mouth and nose, sealing them.

I then tripped him and pinned him to the floor, the cloak still on us, his legs were probably visible but we were hidden behind a few dozen items anyway. I buried my wand in his neck with more violence than necessary.

"Listen to me, Zabini, I no longer have the Trace on my wand, and I can hurt you really, really badly if you don't do what I ask. Don't believe me?" I snatched his wand out of his pocket and muttered with my best Serbian pronunciation, in a guttural voice, _Led Spaliti_.

The curse found its way on Zabini's back and he started to wiggle under me, probably yelling in pain behind my muzzling charm. _Damn, these Serbian spells sure are useful._  
I stopped his pain by countering the torture curse and whispered in his ear again, pressing my wand on his neck. "Do you understand? I will not hesitate stunning and torturing you if you try to escape or to disobey."

He nodded softly, tears starting to flow. I felt bad for him, I was being a real asshole. _I'm only doing what needs to be done._

"You will stand up and walk to the black leather book I'm pointing to. I will be walking behind you, wand on your neck. If you try to get out of the cloak, I will hurt you, if you try to fight me, I will hurt you. Now stand up."

He stood up and we walked slowly to the book. "Pick it up, it won't do anything, you are keyed in the wards." He grabbed it. "Keep it in your hand and walk forward."

My heart was beating faster than ever, cold sweat dripped down my back. _I can't go back now, I'm really doing it. If he tries to run, I won't be able to stop him in time. I have to trust him to be afraid enough._

We reached the entrance and exit and walked into the hall.

"Stop. If you are seen by the clerk, I will have to kill both of you. So don't even think about it, your life is worth more than a book isn't it?" I threatened while taking my wardbreaker scope and bringing it to my eye.

The orange string was not linked to the book anymore, It must have naturally broke when we got out of the museum.

"Let's go again." I whispered, pocketing the scope and pushing my wand deeper in his neck. I felt him shiver and sob. _He is only eleven or twelve after all, I must have scared him big times._

We slowly exited the museum and reached a side street, not quite as empty as I would have liked but still very unpopulated. I led him between two buildings, in a shadowed alley. I grabbed the diary from his hand and violently pushed him against a wall, out of my cloak. He turned to me, red with tears and anger.

"Finite Incantatem. I'm sorry Blaise, but I really do need that book." I explained, shrugging, wand still pointed at him.

"You're not getting away with this Potter, even if you kill me." he tried, more pleadingly than he probably wanted.

"I'm not killing you, and yes, I am getting away with this. Nobody knows we were here and nobody knows we were even collaborating." I grinned proudly, looking around to see if anybody was hearing.  
"Anyway, I only removed the spell so you could tell me one thing, who else is keyed in the wards?" I asked. If he was the only one outside of Zabini Senior, that could be dangerous and killing him would actually be an option.

"I'm not telling you, Potter, fuck you."

"Icatio." the band of light jumped on his mouth again, I took a step, and punched him as hard as i could in the stomach. He collapsed to the floor, and raised his head to me, pain readable on his traits.

"I'm not here to play games Zabini, see your wand? I can snap it, I know how to. Really easy actually, you just have to gather magic in your hand and force it through the wand as you snap it." I explained, taking each end of his wand in my hands.  
"Are you going to tell me or do you want me to break it in half and hammer the pieces in your balls?"

He nodded. I used his wand to remove the charm on his mouth.

"Give me my wand back and -" he started. I was sick of it already, I kicked him in the guts, cutting his breath and repeated my request.

"Who else, Zabini?"

He caught his breath and spoke, "My grandfather, my two cousins and the storage manager." _Mmmh, that leaves enough suspects for them to not find out about Blaise._ I really didn't feel like killing him, not like that, not here and now. _If I can reach my goal without killing anyone, I'm all for it._

"Thank you Blaise." I raised my wand and started swinging it.

"Wait, you ca-"

"Obliviate."

* * *

Scared.

Scared shitless.

That was how I felt the days following my museum adventure.

I had performed masterfully in the heat of the moment but now that I thought calmly about it, I was pissing in my pants. I trusted my obliviation to hold, even against a thorough inspection, as long as Zabini didn't call in Master Obliviators, and even then, the memory would take a few years to get back. But that wasn't likely. What scared me was the idea that somehow, something or someone saw me and that Zabini Senior would one day kick my door, wand blazing. A security system I didn't notice? A way to record what happened in there?

_If they do so much as to find out Blaise was involved, I'm already in the orange zone on the fucked-o-meter._

2 AM.

It was time. I slid my hand under my pillow and grabbed the small diary. I frenetically flipped the cover and began to read. At last I was about to learn how to protect my mind.

**_I am the Great Hellard of Parrington, called Hellard The Tempestuous and this is my diary. But beware, reader, for this is no usual diary. If you wish to learn how to protect your psyche, flip the page. Only someone worthy of my teaching will be able to flip that page._**

I stopped reading and inspected the edge of the page, the other pages looked like they were stuck under it, I blew on it and they didn't do so much as to waver.

_Well, here goes nothing. _I grabbed the corner and flipped the page. It was unusually hard to flip, it was resisting to my pull and eventually, it snapped open. I was now in front of a big square hole. A pitch-black, apparently bottomless gap.

_If you see something you don't understand, stick your fingers in it. _I teased myself on what I was about to do. I knew it was a bad idea but oh well, I didn't go through the trouble of getting the diary to give up now.

I slid a finger in the hole, and suddenly, it became larger. It kept growing until I realized it was still as small as before, only I was plunging into it. My vision was soon filled with nothingness as I fell into the book.

_Funny, last time I experienced anything like that, I was in a coma for the next six weeks._

* * *

I woke up, laying on a smooth surface. Smooth and cold. _Very cold even. _I opened my eyes and looked around. _Ice cold._

I was in the middle of a huge icy island. _Not quite an iceberg, too big to be an iceberg._

"I don't know, Potter, I would say iceberg. A huge one, that is." uttered a deep growly voice. I spun around, slipping on the ice and balancing myself with difficulty.  
"Pictures an iceberg and isn't even able of standing on it? You're quite the buffoon, Potter."

_Hellard._

He was tall, very tall. He was thick and looked like his skin could take a pickaxe strike from the half-giant gatekeeper without any problem. If I had to describe him in a word, it would be Viking. He looked like this image of a Viking everyone had, strong and rough. His face was all wrinkled and he had a medium blond beard from his hair to his neck. He was dressed with red robes, but it was constantly varying between different tones of red.

"Exactly, Potter, and did you guess where you are as well?"

_Great, he reads my mind, should have suspected that._

"I'm guessing we're in my mind?"

"Two points for ... whatever house you're in." he laughed throatily before taking a seat on a protrusion. "We are indeed in your psyche, Potter. This landscape, quite unusual by the way, is a representation of your mind."

I looked up, in the sky and saw stars, galaxies, suns and planets like I never saw before, slowly rolling in the impenetrable void of space. The view was breathtaking.

"We seem to be in space, an iceberg lost in space. Usually, people picture an island or a mountain, somewhere on good old earth." he muttered pensively, staring in the void above our heads.

"What are you exactly?" I asked, bringing my attention back to him.

"I am a finely crafted piece of magic. A memory, a piece of mind, a series of thoughts, imbued into a book. I am, as long as someone pours magic into me. But I can only be in the realm of this person's psyche."  
"Which brings me back to the lesson." he finished, showing the landscape with a sway of his arm.  
"This, the infinite space around us represents the outside, where your mind doesn't spread, where the other minds are."  
He then pointed to me in a dramatic motion. "You, represents your thoughts, your spirit, your personality."  
"And this -" he pointed to a colossal spike of ice. " represents your memories."

As I stood up to get a better view of the transparent spike, I saw my memories glittering inside it, like a shoal of fishes, swimming around in that huge shard of ice.

"Or at least, this is what I understood." concluded Hellard, breaking my daydream. Or was it just a dream?

"So, how do I go about defending all of this from attacks?"

"Straight to the point, Potter, I like that. For the moment, your psyche is completely open, except for a few dangerous natural walls here and there, but no Legilimens will ever be stopped by those."  
"To defend your memories and your thoughts, you will have to make a fortress out of this iceberg." he paused, watching me intently.  
"If you were on your own, it would be near impossible, and that's where I make my entrance. I will attack your iceberg with true Legilimency attacks, and little by little, you will understand how to raise walls from the ground, then you will understand how to raise traps and when your mind will finally be a true fortress, no magic will ever be able to crush it and access your psyche." he ended with a clap of his hands.

"Why do you need to attack me to explain how to raise walls? Can't you just tell me?"

He smiled.

"Legilimens."

Suddenly, I heard a loud and distant sound and the ground shook heavily, I slipped on the ice and looked up. A huge whale-like thing was _racing_ from outer space to my iceberg, and before I could do anything, it crashed against the ground, sending shattered ice everywhere, breaking countless spikes and protrusions. I was thrown away by the impact and landed brutally one the ice. I noticed that it didn't hurt at all, I was not even wounded.

I stood up and looked at the monster, It was already flying away, spreading shards of ice everywhere in its path.

_What the fuck was that, by Merlin's ball sack what the flying tit was that. _I was already resorting to exotic swearing, a sign that I was really shaken.

"That, Potter, was a standard Legilimency attack." chuckled merrily Hellard at my astonished face.

"I have to build a fortress to resist this kind of attack?" I was shocked, that thing could have blasted through any kind of ice fortress.

"That was the most blunt approach, Potter, you fortress must resist this and any kind of other threat, like a mice sneaking in." he explained.  
"See how your landscape is destroyed? See all this ice scattered everywhere? That is your material, Potter."  
"Every time I will attack you, it will create more material, your iceberg regenerates itself, and you will use this ice to build your fortress. I will teach you how to control your mind, how to control this landscape and build with its raw material."

I was astounded, this was way more than anything I had imagined, this was insane. _But then again, I do have important things to protect, and it will only get worse._

"How much time shall it take?" I asked, hoping for the best.

"Time in this place doesn't mean much, everything happening here is only a few thoughts in the outside realm." he explained, opening his arms dramatically, "one hour here is only a few minutes out there, maybe five at most. Building the fortress with my help will take you five to ten years in there." he concluded and walked away to look at some piece of ice.

After a quick exercise of mental calculus, I came up with an answer: "So, twelve times less than ten years at worst. A year in this book... about a nine thousand hours. That's quite a lot but I'm sure I can fit them in my schedule for the next four years or so."

"Are you sure you want to take this path, Potter? This is where most people give up and find another way to not get their mind read."

"Quit babbling nonsense and explain me how to build my walls already." I grinned.

* * *

"Harry, come in our compartment!" commanded Louise, grabbing my arm and pulling me.

We were on the Hogwarts Express.

I had spent all summer in parks, my hand slipped in my bag and my fingers in Hellard's Diary. It had totally wrecked my perception of time but that was the least of my concerns.

My inner fortress was progressing neatly, Hellard had been amazed by my capacities to calm my mind and raise walls with my focus. Like the Hat, he talked about natural capacities.

For the moment, my fortress was taking the form of a big cathedral-like building, but it was still very soon and the walls were still thin and crude, the fortress would be at least five times bigger when I'd be done with it.

However, the repeated assaults from Hellard had put me in a constant headache and state of irritability.

Zach had been very suspicious of me and kept asking questions about where I went and what I was doing. He probably had followed me with the invisibility cloak but all he could see was me apparently sleeping on the green grass of the park. Taking him off my back would be a great improvement, I almost cursed him a few times.

"I was thinking of taking a compartment for myself, my head hurts. I need calm." I replied, putting a hand to my forehead and hoping she would get the message.

"Oh you want to be alone with Loren, right? Well she's with us so whatever."

I had been sent a few letters during summer from my housemates, most of them from Loren, she wanted to see me. I was so busy with Hellard I had to reject her.

Louise had sent a few too but I barely responded, she needed to understand she was pissing me off.

"No, I just want to be alone, alright? See you." I walked away from her, my loyal trunk hovering behind me like a dog, and found an empty compartment. I locked the door and was about to close the curtains when I saw someone familiar walk by my door.

Zabini, dressed in fine magenta robes, didn't look at me twice, I was no longer Harry in his mind, but just a random student. An idea came to me. I slightly slid the door panel, just enough to let a spell exit and muttered _Legilimens_.

It wasn't my first try at Legilimency, I had read the mind of several muggles during the summer. It was easier than I thought, at least with a wand. The connection between me and Zabini opened, projecting his mind on my internal screens. After a small disorienting zoom in and out, I was thrown in the scene I was looking for.

_Zabini was reading a book about Trolls and Elves when the Zabini mansion's door slammed against its frame, the thunderous sound echoing in the whole building. Zabini jumped and looked around._

_"What in the world..." he muttered before putting a bookmark where he stopped and placing the book on a table. He walked to the hall, only to be greeted by his grandfather bellowing at the top of his lungs._

_"Stolen! One of the world's only of its kind! And they left no traces, the wards haven't even been touched according to those damn warders! What am I paying them for?" He was pacing back and forth in the hall, shouting to no one and everyone._

_Blaise's mother emerged from the living room, baffled by her father's antics. She was tall and gorgeous, dark hair falling down her shoulders and giving a nice framing to her cleavage, waist and hips hardly fitting in her very tight figure-hugging dress._

_"What are you rambling about, did you get robbed?" she asked apprehensively._

_"A break-in! They came in, took one of my most precious pieces and vanished away! No trail to follow, nothing! We don't even KNOW how they managed it!" he was furious._

_"So, you don't have any suspect?" asked Blaise, intrigued._

_"No, the only suspect we have for the moment is the storage manager, as he's keyed in the wards. He's under investigation right as we talk but I'm sure it's not him." he finally stopped pacing around and sat in a cushioned armchair._

_"Aurely!" he shouted._

_A small House-elf popped out of nowhere and bowed in front of the old Zabini._

_"Firewhisky!"the elf nodded and popped off._

_"Now we'll have to trust the Aurors to do their job properly." he said darkly while taking the glass his elf had presented._

The scene melted in a mess of black and grey, and the channel was cut, tossing me out of Blaise's mind. I was back in the Hogwarts Express, only a second after I had muttered the incantation. Zabini shook his head and looked around quickly before going on his way. He would probably think he just remembered that for no reasons - it happens, after all.

What I saw was good signs, he didn't suspect his own family members, like I thought. So it would be either the manager or Mr. X.

I grinned, relieved, and locked myself in the compartment, closing the curtains and charming the lock to make it impervious to a simple _Alohomora_.

I opened the diary inside my satchel and slid my fingers in the holes. I could do the building on my own, but having Hellard around was good to get tips and tricks, that and the raw material to build my stronghold.

I closed my eyes and jumped in my inner self.

* * *

I uncorked the phial and swallowed the home-made Pepper-up potion. I felt it slid down my throat and wake my body up. I shivered slightly and dropped the empty phial back in my satchel. _I'll fill it again tonight._

_Tonight? What time is it anyway? _I brought my wristwatch before my eyes and read the time, 11:14am. _Fuck, I'm late again._ I grabbed my satchel and started running to my Charms lesson.

Using the diary was becoming more and more unbearable, I was now totally lost when I came out of it. I couldn't follow the time, I missed lessons, I was late everytime, I was given detentions and missed them, it was all collapsing. The headache didn't help at all, it was worst every time and put me in a state of passive hostility that shocked my fellow housemates. So I avoided interacting with them the most possible, I was under Notice-Me-Not charm all day and I didn't talk to anyone until they came on their own.

_Do I need to replenish my ingredients? I think I don't have any dried Japanese moss anymore... _

I didn't sleep more than three or four hours a night, the headache was killing me and my Occlumency lessons were the only place where it didn't hurt. So I used my bed time to build my walls.

Consequently, I had started brewing my own stock of Pepper-up in an unused classroom, the ingredients were available by owl post so it was really not a problem. I consumed about three Pepper-up potions per twenty four hours. It was a lot.

I ran through the corridors, wincing at my headache and reached the Charm's classroom door. I opened it softly and sneaked inside. The Notice-Me-Not charm was dead useful in those circumstances. _When I succeed in applying it, that is. _My constant state of pain and aggressiveness had made casting spells difficult, if I didn't focus on making my mind calm, I would overpower my charms or fill them with negative intent, which could prove disastrous.

The class had started for more than fifteen minutes and everyone was already in the practical exercises. Sneaking in this mess wasn't difficult. I found my way behind Lynn McWhorter and dropped on a chair.

I looked around and saw everyone playing with balls. I analyzed Lynn, he took his leather ball and threw it in the air, like everyone was doing, and when the ball started dropping back down, he raised his wand and shouted _Aresto Momentum_. The ball slowly reduced its speed but still hit the floor pretty hard.

_Cushioning charm? I never tried that... _I thought absently while grabbing a ball in the basket. I walked back to my seat, opened the book and read the wand motion. **_A short flick followed by a circle motion of the wrist, duration of the circle motion depending on the target's speed, keep the wand pointed at the target._**

I tossed my ball high in the air, trying to ignore my pounding headache being even more annoying than usual. As it started to drop again, I carefully performed the motion and muttered the incantation.

The ball didn't stop.

Instead, it flew horizontally, like a cannonball, faster than I thought possible for a leather ball. Nobody noticed it at first, it had been totally silent. Then the ball hit a cupboard. The ball went through the glass and thick wood like they were mere pieces of paper, and hit the wall with a thunder-like sound, the front panel's glass literally _exploded_, nailing hundreds of small shattered pieces of glass in everyone near it. And as everyone processed what happened and started to feel the little pieces of glass embedded in their skin and robes, the cupboard fell to the ground with a loud crash, revealing the hole in its back.

Then there was silence.

I quickly used the distraction to grab a ball from the basket, pretending to be moving closer to see the mess like everyone else.

"Everybody, calm down, anyone who has been hit by the glass, please go to the hospital wing at once." instructed Flitwick, waving his arms as high as he could to be noticed.  
"It can happen when you mess up a spell, who did it? You will not be punished." he asked to the little crowd. I stayed silent.

He walked up to the wall and pushed the crashed cupboard aside with a wave of his wand. He summoned a chair from his desk and climbed on it to look at the leather ball inlayed in the wall. About half of it was in the wall, a few deep cracks ran from the impact point.

"I often see spells misfiring, but to be able to embed a leather ball in Hogwarts' stone, that is an impressive and dangerous feat." he declared to the class. "This ball would probably have beheaded anyone on its path..." he added, touching his chin, fascinated.  
I swallowed. _This spell overpowering issue is becoming a major issue...  
_"Anyway, please be careful with your wands, and for the one who did that, you must ask me before trying again, I will not take it lightly if I see another of those death balls." he declared with a big smile.  
"Back to the lesson!" and he walked back to his desk, his chair following him, trotting on its legs.

I spent the remaining time faking the spell, without using any magic at all. I couldn't afford to send another "death ball" as Flitwick happily called it.

When the bell rang, I walked off, swearing at myself for being so bad. _Whatever, I'll find a way to fix that. What time is it?_ 12am, lunch time. _Great I'll grab something to eat and get in my lab, I need to fill my Pepper-up phials again. And I have two more hours to spend building this damn fortress... _

Building my walls would take time, but nowhere near the amount previously calculated. It would be over way before, fortunately, but I still had to spend a few thousand hours in a coma, fingers slipped in a book.

I walked to the end of the Hufflepuff table, where most of the students were sixth or seventh years and grabbed a chicken leg and a bowl of mashed potatoes - I slipped everything in my satchel and headed to the sixth east tower, third floor.

Once here, I unlocked my own locking charm with the countercharm and entered the not-so-abandoned classroom. My cauldron was resting in the center of the room, cold dry pepper up potion inside it. Some potions, like the pepper up, could be left to cool down and salvaged later by reheating it, even if the books forbid it. You just had to make sure it was still homogeneous.

I casted a small _Incendio_ under the cauldron and started to eat while it was heating. The chicken leg was crispy and greasy, just like I liked it, and the mashed potatoes were covered with a thick gravy, in a word, delicious.

I finished my delightful meal and stirred the now liquid again pepper-up brew. _It will be enough for at least ten phials before I have to start again._ I reduced the flames with the adjustable heater and got the Diary out.

_Here we go again._

* * *

I opened my eyes again. I was back in my lab. My watch, placed on the table, indicated 1:38pm. I wasn't late, for once.

I stood up, feeling sick, and walked to my cauldron. The potion was boiling softly. I stopped the fire and filled four phials. I took my satchel and walked off, this afternoon I had potions, I had forgotten Snape's last detention, I was sure to get another one but it could be worse if I showed up late.

As I was walking through the countless staircases, I felt my stomach complain. Usually it was just the headache, but this time, I felt like throwing up. _Probably just the bad Occlumency/mashed potatoes mix. _

I spotted a bathroom in a corridor near the stairs to access the dungeons and hurried into it. I was really about to throw up, my brain was screaming in pain and my stomach seemed to try to scream louder.

I grabbed the edges of the sink and looked at myself in the mirror. I was a wreck, I was pale, I had nasty bags under my blood-injected eyes - which looked terrible on green eyes - and my hair seemed to be longer than usual, not much, about an inch. It suddenly came, from the bottom of my insides, I vomited right in the sink, barely holding myself to the edges.

I coughed a bit and spat in the pool of vomit before opening the water to clean it. I splashed water on my face and looked again.

It barely made me feel better to puke, now I had a bad taste in the mouth. My anger rose abruptly. _Why the fuck does that happen? Why can't I handle this!_

"Wake the fuck up, Harry!" I shouted at my reflection before punching angrily the mirror, cutting my fingers and smashing the glass.

"Harry? Are you alright?" asked a feminine voice from behind me.

I spun, startled, trying to find my wand in my robes.

"Oh my god, your hand, let me see that!" it was Hannah Abbot, she ran to me and grabbed carefully my hand.

"Why did you do that, are you crazy?"

"Drop it Hannah, let's go to potions." I spat, too furious to be nice.

"Oh no we don't, you have to be treated, Harry, those are big cuts!"

"Let me go, Hannah for fuck's sake, DROP IT!" I barked and pushed her back, really mad now.

She got her wand out and pointed it at me menacingly.

"If you don't let me bring you to the hospital wing, I'll bring you myself!"

I lost it. I grabbed my wand, raised it and before I could stop myself, "Kroz Sve!"

The dark Serbian perforation curse hit her in the thigh, boring a tunnel in her flesh. I didn't immediately regret it, the raw pleasure I was getting from the dark magic was dominating my headache, I felt better than I ever did since I had started Occlumency. I felt really _great_.

But then she screamed, and I opened my eyes. She was on the wet floor, holding her right thigh, her face bent in an expression of pain I hadn't thought I would ever saw on her. I must had hit a vein because blood was literally squirting out of the round tunnel I had carved through her leg. It was flowing everywhere, forming a large pool under her as she started to faint. I reacted immediately, I casted an _Obliviate_ on her just before she fainted, successfully erasing the incident from her memory.

Then I crouched, grabbed her and lifted her. _Damn she's heavy, even without all this blood._

I ran with her in my arms, her blood making a neat trail behind us, and kept casting _Lumos_ and _Nox_ to erase the spell from my wand's short term memory.

After half a minute of running in the corridor, I found professor Jenkins and shouted at him for help.

He ran to me and analyzed anxiously her wound.

"Dark magic, this wound needs to be countered before I can fix it, she's losing a lot of blood, go get Madam Pomfrey, kid! NOW!" he yelled frantically, casting spells over her wound.

_Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit! Fucking hell what have I done, why, why? _I was running to the hospital wing, trying to find out _why _I had done that.

_It felt good. It felt damn good. _The answer was simple, and thinking about it, I couldn't even feel my headache anymore, it had felt _really_ good to release my anger on something and to feel the bliss of dark magic flowing in my body.

I reached Madam Pomfrey, panting, and managed to let out a few words in a second.

"Student... hurt... badly... the dungeons... GO!"

Pomfrey got the message, probably because of my alarmed tone or blood covered robes, and left without any question, racing to the dungeons.

I was standing, alone, in the infirmary, bloody and exhausted. I sat on a bed and reviewed my situation. _I obliviated her pretty good, in her state of panic it was pretty easy, this part of her memories will be such a mess they won't ever be able to recover it. I can say that I heard her yell and when I arrived, she was down and the assailant gone. The good old "it was already like that when I came" excuse. Always work._

I calmed down and casted a few standard spells with my wand to make it more believable than a series of _Lumos _and _Nox_. I noticed that spells actually worked easily now. This little outburst had sort of fixed me.

A few minutes after, I heard a commotion outside the infirmary and stood up. The doors slammed open and Hannah came flying horizontally, her wound bandaged, followed by madam Pomfrey, professor Jenkins and professor Snape.

She was placed in a bed and madam Pomfrey accio'd a blood-replenishing potion from the shelf. As she was forcing the thick liquid through Hannah's mouth, Jenkins turned to me an crouched, putting his hands on my shoulders.

"What have you seen, student? Tell me everything." he asked in that you-can-confess-to-me-son tone.

"Well, I was walking to the dungeons to attend professor Snape's lesson -" I started, without hiding my anxiety, after all who wouldn't be anxious in that situation?

"Nice of you, Mr. Potter, you don't usually bother to." said sarcastically Snape. "Your wand." he added, presenting me his hand.

I placed my wand in his palm and continued my story.

"When suddenly, I heard her scream. It was really a terrifying scream, I knew she was badly hurt. So I ran to the source of the yell and after a few second of searching where she was, I found her in the bathroom." I finished, and quickly added "Is she gonna be okay?", patting myself on the back for having thought of this.

"She will survive, luckily, professor Snape knew the exact counter curse, that saved us the trouble of canceling the curse, which takes considerably more time." he explained, turning his head toward Hannah, who was now silently sleeping. "Did you hear or see anyone, anything else?"

Snape was analyzing my wand and found only plain first and second year everyday spells. He quickly gave it back after half a dozen spells reviewed.

"Nope, nothing. She had already fainted when I came so I think the assailant ran away. But anyway, she will remember, right?" _I'm a second year Hufflepuff, I don't know anything about memory charms._

"She may have been obliviated, that means her memory has been deleted. We will have to wait for her to wake up."

"What do we do if this guy do it again?" I asked in my best whinny voice.

"Don't worry, Mr. Potter, he was lucky this time, but you can't run around hurting students in Hogwarts." _Yes I can. But he's right, had there been any paintings or else seeing me in and out the bathroom, that could have turned badly for me_.

I was released and ordered to go back to my dormitory to rest. I lay in my bed and stared at the ceiling. _So, dark magic feels good, that's nothing new. But dark magic is actually a cure for this shitty headache now. I can't go around cursing everyone to feel good... _

I stayed here for the rest of the afternoon, half sleeping, half awake, daydreaming about destruction and violence. A way to release all this anger and pain I earned at each Occlumency lesson.

I was awoke by Ernie McMillan.

"Harry, pal, wake up! There's an event tonight!"

"C'mon Harry it's not the time to sleep, although the time to sleep should be defined by when you sleep..." added Loren pensively, "...but whatever, just wake up, it's going to be fun!"

I came out of my bed and walked to the bathroom. I was looking a bit better. _At least not as pale as this morning. Straight out of my inferi books..._

We were walking to the great hall, with about all the Hufflepuff first years. In the deafening noise of our hoard, Loren quickly briefed me:

"The Defense professor organized a dueling club, because of the aggressions. First Flitch's cat, but that wasn't too serious, it was just a petrified cat, and now Hannah getting almost killed with dark magic! So he said he'll teach in a dueling club so students can defend themselves. And Snape is in! They're doing the first lesson in the great hall tonight." she exclaimed, turning around to smile to me.

"That sounds totally dumb, if the guy used dark magic to attack Hannah, he's probably good enough to beat any second year."

"I know, but that's not the point, the point is that it's going to be _fun_!" she replied, still walking backward. _How does she do that?_

We reached the great hall and took our seats in the makeshift amphitheater they had placed around the dueling stage. It was a standard dueling stage, minus the protective wards. At the north end was standing Snape, as gloomy as ever, and in front of him, at the south end, was Lockhart, the useless Defense professor.

Lockhart then quickly launched in a small rant about how great he was at dueling and how had this neat idea of forming a dueling club, and presented Snape as "his assistant".

It was clear to everyone that only Lockhart in this room thought of Snape as an assistant. He then proceeded to get humiliated in front of the whole student body by being blasted by a disarming curse and falling sprawling on the floor. As everyone laughed, Snape took the lead and opened his mouth to speak. Everyone stopped immediately to let him talk.

"I will now call your name, and you will come to duel. Disarming spell and harmless hexes only." he paused, his lips twisted in a nasty grin. "Potter!" _Damn. He fucking hates me. Oh well, I can deal with that, I'll just have to lose._

I stood up and took a step forward as Snape continued "Against Dra-" he stopped and looked at me funnily. My brother was also standing. _He didn't mean me, fuck._

He started to laugh softly, a dark chuckle that would give nightmares to any Hufflepuff firstie. "Potter against Potter, very well, let's see how powerful is the Potter line." he smiled unhealthily.

The crowd was now cheering, not for me but neither for my twin apparently since Zach was currently seen as the Heir of Slytherin or whatever bullshit was the rumors at the moment. _I guess they're just cheering to see blood._

Losing on purpose to stay undercover was one thing, but to lose to Zach? This was beyond my capacities.

"Bow!"

We bowed.

"On my three, one... two... three!" counted Lockhart, flashing a bright smile to the excited crowd.

I knew he would start immediately with the disarming charm, he only wanted to end it. I sidestepped it easily, feeling its power as it skimmed near my chest, and shot an _Incutio _at his wand hand. The advantage of this minor striking spell was that it was _very_ fast. The curse hit him in the hand, throwing his wand away. It didn't break any bones, a Potter was too powerful for that, even that young. Zach jumped after his wand.

_STOP. Lose, just fucking lose, Harry. People are already wondering how I did that._

I threw a laughable knockback jinx at him, deliberately aiming at the ground, he rolled, jumped on his feet, wand in hand.

"Incarcerous!" he shouted, I was astonished, that was an advanced spell for such a young age. James sure had taught him well.

I let the ropes bind me and fell to the ground, captured.

Lockhart was amazed, he came on the stage, clapping loudly. "Amazing, simply amazing, thank you, both of you for this astounding duel! Zachary Potter wins!"

He laughed brightly for a few second and asked Snape to free me. Snape did so, and when I stood up, he looked me in the eyes. I felt the intrusion immediately and broke eye contact. I walked away without a word, letting Snape stare at my back suspiciously. _Damn this Snape guy, he was here when I found Hannah, he's really suspicious now. I'll have to watch my back, with this chamber of secrets thing going on, he'll probably investigate on me._

"Very well, Potter, but that was a bit too easy don't you think, it looked like your twin gave you the win to me." mocked quietly Snape, grinning again.

"Draco Malfoy is your true opponent tonight."

Silence in the crowd.

I smirked, Malfoy was my first dark magic victim ever, and the memory was pretty amusing. _You'll always be little weeping ferret to me, Malfoy._

* * *

Two weeks after the Abbot incident and the dueling club, I decided that enough was enough. I couldn't stand studying Occlumency day and night and stay the nice Harry Potter at the same time. I needed a way out. I needed to feel better. Dark magic.

I had been summoned by my head of house, professor Sprout, a few days prior.

_"Take a seat Harry, we need to talk." she offered me a seat._

_"Do you know why?"_

_"My grades?" it wasn't hard to guess, I dropped from first of the class to middle of the class._

_"Exactly, Harry. I know we are experiencing a bit of a hard time with the aggressions and I understand it's very hard for you who have witnessed Hannah so close to passing away. If you feel the need to talk about it, come to me, Harry, your grades were excellent last year, I would like you to get better and make up for it" she said, her round face showing nothing but concern for me. "Is there anything I can do, Harry?"._

_"Thank you, professor Sprout, but I'm just going through a rough spot, with Zach being called the heir of Slytherin, and all of that..." I lied smoothly.  
"I'll do my best, professor."_

After this little interview with my head of house, I came to the decision to give in and use dark magic as much as I'd need to both do my Occlumency lessons and keep my Hogwarts face on.

How? Simple, I would sneak in the Forbidden Forest, find an animal to attack and_ wreck its shit _until I have enough.

Thankfully, the Hufflepuff dormitories were located next to the greenhouses, so the path to the forbidden forest was totally free, I only had to go through a bridge and walk along the rocks behind the gatekeeper's hut to reach the forest. There was no door between me and the forest.

And it was exactly what I had done. I was now progressing inside the Forbidden Forest, wand in hand, adrenaline flowing in my veins. I felt good only knowing that I was about to get some action. I reached a clearing, and glanced at the sky. The stars beamed through the sky like there was no atmosphere between us. It reminded me of my inner world.

A growl interrupted my musing. I turned my head to my right. I couldn't see what it was, the high grass reached my hip and the natural darkness of the night seemed to be accentuated in this forest. The clearing I found myself in was lit with moonlight, but the growl came from behind the edges, into the trees. I took a few steps forward and heard the same loud, deep growl, but this time followed by a shrill screech. I stopped. There were two creatures in there.

Suddenly, a beast came out of the trees, trotting toward me and screeched before taking off - to the sky. It was an Hippogriff. Half-eagle and half-horse, the majestic beast of feathers and muscle was now flying away over the treetops.

The growl from before resounded again in the clearing, this time clearer and closer. There was another beast here, probably the one who had chased the hippogriff away. I spun around. It was a big, heavy, meaty boar.

Maybe not exactly a boar but it was what it looked like, a ten feet high and twenty feet long boar. Its black eyes were staring at me, saliva dribbling from its bared teeth. Its enormous body was slowly moving up and down with each breath it took, making a deep rolling growl.

"Well ain't you the big boy..." I teased, slowly raising my wand. My senses were more accurate than ever, adrenaline pumping in my blood at a crazy rate, boosting each of my heartbeats with a surge of thrill.

I opened my mouth to make a witty comment, but the beast didn't let me. It charged forward, taking three steps before I could react. The ground was shaking under the weight of the bag of muscles throwing itself at me.

"Aspernum!" I shouted, keeping my stand. The purple repelling spell hit the beast and reduced its speed a bit, making it change course slightly. I lost no time and sent a good old _Kroz Sve_. The orange-black drill-like curse _dug_ into the boar's fur and quickly found the flesh, tearing through it. It stopped a few inches in and broke. It all happened so fast, the beast was still charging at me. I threw myself to the side, casting an advanced dark cutting curse at its leg.

"Secaferox!" the deep blue scythe-like curse smashed against its legs and shattered without dealing any damage. _Damn, this guy is strong, I need to put some more power in my spells._

It almost trampled me, its hoofs reducing the grass and dirt near my legs in a thin layer and missing my limbs only by luck. It finished its travel, having trouble stopping its insane momentum, and faced me again, growling loudly. Blood was oozing from the perforation curse I had hit it with. The joy of using dark magic was adding to my battle trance, it felt _wonderful_.

I inhaled deeply, watched it sprint toward me, enraged, demented. I took aim and shot another _Secaferox_. This time I gathered all my intent to hurt, and pushed all the magic I could muster. I felt the heat rushing in my arm, and it _exploded _at the tip, producing a blinding blue flash. I saw the enormous blue scythe hit the beast head on, opening a deep gash across its face and sides, blood sprayed everywhere while its body continued its course, crashing on the ground with a loud thump, followed by a big cloud of dirt smoke and rocks flying in its trail.

I fell on my knees and took a huge breath, I was in a daze, it was unreal, the second the spell had connected, I felt all this pain being converted into pleasure and sent back to me. I was shuddering under the starlight, stained with blood and dark magic.

I stayed like that for a few minutes and fell on my back, starting to feel the post-battle exhaustion. I felt absolutely great, I was here in my element. _Killing stuff, tasting blood... it's really fucked up but I guess dark magic does that. And I'm not complaining about it._

As the dirt absorbed the pool of blood under the carcass in front of me, I saw a bunch of black skeletal horses emerge from the forest and carefully approach me.

"Thestrals, I presume... Oh, you came for your dinner, my pleasure, go ahead." I indicated the dead boar and lay on my back, arms crossed behind my head. _The sky is gorgeous in there..._

They eventually started eating the boar and drinking in the blood lake it had created.

_No headache, no anger, I feel like a brand new man. Plus, I have mastered that advanced dark slicing curse, that's really neat. I should start studying stupefy and other "big" spells._ I had learned the _Secaferox _curse in a spellbook I got from Sherry, it was a very advanced curse, depending on how much power you put into it, it could really cut anything. It was one of those spells that were only limited by the caster himself. Also, being dark, it caused really nasty wounds that would take a lot of time to treat, with potions and such. Not your standard _Episkey_. And of course, it required quite the firepower to block in combat, an usual _Protego _would get sliced in two no matter how strong it is. It was the real stuff. And it felt really, _really_ good.

I stayed a bit in the forest before forcing myself to come back to the dormitory. _This fortress isn't gonna build itself, is it?_

* * *

**_AN: You probably figured out by now, but I'm gonna write the whole story in this style, jumping from scenes to scenes. _**


	6. Chapter 6

**_I bow before the almighty J. K. Rowling._**

* * *

**.**

**Too Young to Die.**

**.**

**Chapter 6.**

**.**

* * *

I was in a bookstore, somewhere in the seventh layer of Knockturn Alley. Sherry had recommended me this one when I had asked her about rituals, blood rituals more accurately.

After reading a lot about golem, inferi and various creature summoning, I was certain I had to find a ritual to get Natasha's body back. It was something palpable, flesh and blood, I needed a way to rebuild it - for the rest I'd see later.

Sherry was with me, we were strolling around in the tiny bookshop, reading titles each one grimmer than the previous one.

"Rituals from North America, before the white faces." she muttered, sliding her finger down the dark red edge of said volume.  
"What kind of rituals are you exactly looking for, Harry? Half those books just have_ Ritual_ as title, without any indication about what..."

"A lot of them probably describe the same rituals, just from different viewpoints. I'm looking for anything body-related, how to create a body from blood, something like that." I answered absently, picking up a green tome titled _What the government doesn't want you to know about "dark" rituals_.

"You know you're getting in real trouble if you get caught trying something like that, why do you need that, Harry, seriously?" she questioned, half concerned and half impressed.

"It doesn't matter." I replied, not wanting to waste our limited time in the shady store lying to her.

She stopped walking and frowned.  
"I've known you for a year now; you drop in every now and then for a shag and that's it? Not going to open up even a little?" she snapped angrily, throwing a large book on the wooden floor.  
"I've tried knowing you, Harry, but you never tell _anything_ about you, your family, or anything else. I thought we had something more than just amazing sex, I don't think it's enough." she was pissed off, tears started to gather under her eyes.  
She took a big breath and continued hissing at me, this time trying to be a tad more quiet.  
"Now I'm following you in this place, and when I think you're finally going to tell me a bit more about your motivations, _it doesn't matter_? That's all you have to say?" she wiped her eyes and straightened.

I was lost, I didn't know what do to. I couldn't lie to her, it was pointless, and there was no way I'd tell her about my secrets.

"If you don't have anything more to say, don't bother coming back to me - I'm done with you, Mr. Book." she turned around and left, the shop's bell ringing softly for a few seconds behind her and alerting the paranoiac shopkeeper.

I picked up the book she had thrown on the floor and looked absentmindedly at the picture. It was the picture of a Mage Knight, taking all the page, his body and armor separated like a muggle toy with arrows pointing to each parts and a good load of notes following. I closed the book and read the cover. _Body enhancing, the secrets behind the infamous Mage Knights_. It was a fairly big book, heavy and bound with what looked like obsidian.

I remembered me punching Zabini in the guts with all my strength and barely having him drop to a knee, I remembered the fight against the boar, when it had come very close to reduce my legs to a meaty pulp and glanced at the book again.

_Body enhancing. It would be useful for sure, but do I need it? Can't I do everything with my might?_

Mage Knights existed for a reason. They were made for combat.

You could be strong and fight with magic, that was what most wizards and duelists did, but when it was about true combat, on the battlefield, when it was about killing and surviving instead of just defeating an opponent, you needed more than magic, you needed to be fast, strong and resistant. Mage Knights carried weapons around because their job was to be efficient in combat, and chopping half a dozen wizards in two with a sway of a battle axe was the definition of combat efficiency. True Mage Knights were Mage-level wizards, they could handle any kind of opponent in the first place. The fact that they were enhanced warriors encased in a thick enchanted armor tipped the scales in their favour.

_And Hellard dropped three of them before dying... I need to ask him about that._

I took the book along with the two other I had selected and walked to the counter.

While I was walking to the nearest ascendant Black Bricks wall, I thought about Sherry. She was right, I had never told her anything about me. Often she would ask small things like where I lived and what I did during the day, I always changed the subject to something involving the two of us and an empty room. She told me a lot about her over the months, I knew she was Sherry Carlisle, nineteen years old, ex-Slytherin and that she was working in that bookshop to get experience before getting her own bookshop in magical Edinburgh. I knew her uncle was the last member of her family alive since the war, I knew she lived in a small house with him somewhere in the countryside before working in London.

_All she knows about me is that I am Harry, and that I like it very much when she does that thing with her tongue._

I reached the fifth layer and her workplace after a few minutes of being lost in my thoughts and walked in, making the bell ring.

She saw me enter and came to me.

"So, do you have something to tell me?" she asked, visibly still mad at me.

"Listen, I can't tell you who I am or what I do in the day, and I won't lie to you." I started, trying to sound as sincere as I was.  
"But if you want to know about me, I'll make efforts to answer to your questions."

While I was trying to win her back, I shortly wondered _why_ I was doing this. She was really hot and nice but why did I want her so bad? _Guess I'm kinda addicted to our private lessons. _

"I understand you have things to hide, but why don't you trust me with them? You know I'm not an Auror or anything like that, and your terrible secret is probably not much compared to all the shit that happens in this place anyway, Harry! Just be you and open to me!" she begged, grabbing my hands and catching my eyes with hers.

"I'm sorry." I turned and walked off. I cared about her and that was bad. I was about to tell her everything, and that was unacceptable. My secret was way more important than the affection I had for her.

I walked out and took a room in an inn at the second layer. Tonight and every other nights from now one were going to be without the warm body of Sherry against me.

* * *

I closed the book in a clap and rose a hand to my forehead.

I was tired, exhausted. It has been a month since I had started studying rituals, and that had been so taxing I was now cruising at six pepper-up phials per day.

Rituals were crazy complicated, each one of them could be modified to get a different result, and all of them contained an _assload_ of details and factors that could be crucial or mundane. Reading about them and trying to understand how to put all of this together to reach my goal was mind-torture. That and the Occlumency lessons, of course.

Dark magic was now officially part of my weekly schedule, two nights per week I went in the Forbidden Forest and attacked things, sometimes killing them, and sometimes retreating quickly after pissing off a too strong opponent.

While it eased my headache, it had the hitch of putting me in a constant daze of bliss and recklessness. I was looking at the world through a screen, like a game where nothing could reach me. I constantly had nasty ideas and laughed at the demise of my housemates. Often I would trick them, make them get mad between themselves, hurt them with minor hexes and pretend that it went from elsewhere. Sometimes it didn't work so I had to obliviate them, and it made me laugh inside. It made me happy. But I was still sane, I knew it was bad. _But if it makes me feel good, how is it bad? From my point of view, it's pretty good. As long as I don't go too far, it's not bad to have a bit of fun._

After a few weeks of deep studies on different rituals, I could say that I got the logic behind them. I understood more or less how runes could affect the flow in magic and temper with its proprieties, I also understood how the numbers worked, why you had to set a certain number of items in a certain shape, there was a logic behind it. But the sheer amount of ingredients, potions and whatnot you had to put together to successfully execute a dark ritual was overwhelming. And the worst part was that no known ritual could build a perfect body, there was always a downside, like the body would survive only a year or it would be inhumanly hideous, or worse.

I opened the bag of pixie powder I got from my contact in Slytherin. I could have gone to buy it myself but these days I was too much of a wreck to risk another outing in Knockturn Alley.

I took a pinch of the thin golden powder and dropped it unceremoniously in the pepper-up potion. It was highly unrecommended to add exotic ingredients to a potion, even more to a pepper-up potion, and even more when those ingredients were heavy stimulants like pixie powder. But the fact was that it boosted the efficiency of my pepper up to about three times the standard reaction, and I didn't mind the euphoria that came along as side effect. I was already high on dark magic anyway and my slowly growing resistance to pepper up potions had to be dealt with.

The powder fizzled on the surface and smoke invaded the room. I breathed it, like always, it had become some sort of rite of my own. While my body relaxed at the sweet smell and toxins it knew so well, my mind drifted away to the chaotic memories of the Quidditch match we had for fun last week end. I was just coming back from almost killing some kind of wood golem - or was it a living tree? - and I was ecstatic. The dark freezing curse I had used was like having sex ten times per second, it was glorious, mind-blowing. And I was nowhere near mastering it, the wood beast hadn't even been half frozen.

Playing a Quidditch match with my housemates had sounded like one of the best idea at the moment, so I went and had fun. Of course, they got really impressed with my skills on a broom and decided on their own that I would try out for the house team.

At first I tried to stop them, but after all, what's wrong in a bit of fun? I could always skip the matches if they were encroaching on my project.

The cauldron vibrated faintly, the pixie powder had blended with the rest of the potion. I filled up ten phials, put them in a wooden phial holder and shoved everything in my new satchel, which was enchanted to hold a bit more than the usual schoolboy satchel. I took a gulp from the ladle resting in the cauldron.

The surcharged pepper up woke my senses up, setting my nerves ablaze. I grinned widely as my brain received a nice injection of I don't know what that made me feel awesome. I bathed in a combination of numbness, laziness and jubilation, but my body was fast and accurate.

The match was to begin in ten minutes. _Perfect, as long as they don't ask me to think about anything..._

I grabbed my broom in a smooth gesture and set sail to the Quidditch pitch.

Half Hogwarts later, I was approaching the pitch and I could already hear the crowd roaring and cheering. It was about to start. _Wonder how it would feel to cast a wide area advanced dark curse on the crowd, I'd probably overdose..._

I quickly transfigured my robes into Quidditch robes and walked in, without bothering to enter the changing room or to talk with the captain, Cedric Diggory.

"Harry, you're here, great. Let's go then, we waited enough. I'll tell you about the tactics when we're up there." exclaimed Diggory, relieved to have his team complete.

"Yes captain!" I yelled, imitating the Auror's salute to their superiors. Then I burst out laughing, everybody looked at me strangely but quickly discarded it when madam Hooch blew the whistle.

I was still laughing my guts out when I kicked the floor, I knew it wasn't especially funny but I didn't give a damn, I just wanted to laugh. And that made it even funnier to me.

"The quaffle passes to Angelina Johnson, in fine shape these days, I hope she won't distract the Gryffindor players as much as she distracts me -" started the loud commentator, only to be scolded by McGonagall for his improper remarks.

"- and the delicious chaser passes to Alicia Spinnet, who gets blocked by Pamela Laverne, very nice action here - but what is that? A bludger sent by Weasley thwarted the interruption, Spinnet still on her way to the goal, nobody is here to stop her, except for the Hufflepuff keeper Jeffery Price, and GOAL! GOAL FOR GRYFFINDOR!"

I was lost in my mind, sitting on my broom, wondering about an important question that just came to me. _Who am I playing against?_

"Harry what are you doing? Harry come here!" shouted Diggory, bringing my attention back to the match. I shook my head and flew to him. _Damn, this set of pepper up is something else... I have to stay focused on reality._

"Yeah, nothing, so ... what?" I chuckled without thinking. I was just having the best time of my life. _Okay, focus._

"Harry, what the hell are you doing? Listen, you're a pretty good flyer, even on this broom, so I told Howell to let you go ahead and make a long pass when you're in the twenty feet zone, okay?" he talked loudly, to be sure I was hearing him.

"Got it." I thought about some witty comment to make in a pirate voice but refrained. I had already acted too strange today.

"And the quaffle goes to Spinnet again, covered by Bell, but Potter is speeding toward them, and oh my god -"

I was leaning on my broom, feeding it magic, pushing it to the limit, I knew I could get the quaffle from those cute but scared Gryffindor gals. I was about to reach their position, slightly under them, when Spinnet took a sharp turn to her right, Bell followed and covered her left side. I grinned and accelerated suddenly, the broom was really hot now, my skin started to burn on my palm and fingers. I raced between Spinnet and bell, bumping their elbows, and let go of my broom, holding it only with my legs. The lack of magic in my broom made it lose all acceleration, I quickly grabbed the quaffle from Spinnet with my two hands, and let the sudden deceleration get me out of the sexy sandwich I found myself in. Spinnet was clenching the quaffle strongly, and got pulled back with me as I moved down with my legs. She lost control of her broom and leave the quaffle to me so she could stabilize herself, helped by Bell. I turned around in the sharpest turn I could manage, I sensed the broom bend slightly, creaking painfully, and came to a full stop.

_And now, everyone's too confused to act, I rock at that._ I thought without a hint of modesty while I tossed the leather ball with all my strength. It made a gracious curve and landed right on Pamela who was at the other side of the pitch, her path to the goals totally clear of opponents.

"TEN POINTS FOR HUFFLEPUFF! Amazing action by - what is that? Madam Hooch stops the match, surely to discuss this dangerous stunt from Potter!" the commentator yelled in the enchanted microphone.

I flew down to Hooch under the jeers of the Gryffindor side. My team mates were delighted by my performance, Diggory pushed me aside and gave me a wide smile and a thumb up before going down to deal with Hooch himself.

"Incredible Harry, how in the world can you do that with a Cleansweep Three!" cheered Pamela, bumping me in the side and throwing her arm around my shoulders. _I wonder if she'd ride me as well as she rides a broom, she sure is athletic._

"That was amazing, Harry, dangerous but amazing!" smiled Smith, waving his bat around like an excited kid. _That's what I wanted you to say when you saw me cursing Louise with the self-strangulating curse. Too bad you had to freak out and get obliviated too._

Other team members flew around me and congratulated me while Diggory came back up, angry.

"I'm sorry Harry, she really didn't like your play here, I tried to explain her it wasn't _that_ dangerous but she said you pushed your broom too far and could have crashed in them. Bullshit." he spat in the air.  
"Anyway, you're out. Sorry mate."

I really didn't give a damn, I had enough fun. I flew out of the pitch and happily walked back to my clandestine lab, planning to spend the rest of the day in the diary. _I need to focus on my objectives, fun is alright, but there is a time for work too._

* * *

**_...and the sixty years old Indian mage Jagdish Chanda, who followed the progress of the team as scribe. No one came back, except for Jagdish the archivist, who then disappeared in his homeland, India. Many have come to him for the notes and memories of what happened, but few got anything. It is believed that Jagdish has become insane and lives in the Sahyadri mountains with muggles._**

I closed my second most precious book, _The recorded attempts at Soul Magic all over the world_, and thought about what I had just read. This bit of information might just have been worth the five hundred galleons I had spent for the book. There was someone who was maybe still alive and had data about how to retrieve a soul. Sure, the shady ritual the team had attempted was unknown and it didn't work perfectly as they all died, but there was this guy, Jagdish, who knew what happened.

Creating a soul was impossible, the book listed a lot of crap about destroying them, manipulating them, tearing them to pieces and such. It also had a lot of useful information on ghosts of all kinds and ways to fight them, but the part that interested me was soul retrieval. Taking back a soul that have been claimed by something, be it death or anything else. Of course, it only listed attempts, and most of the time there was no useful information at all, but just this little sentence could prove valuable enough.

_According to this book, the guy is ... sixty plus ninety... one hundred and fifty something years old. Shit, he might have died long ago._

I sighed and sat back in my armchair.

It had been a week since I stopped taking pepper-up potions, Occlumency lessons, and dark magic trips in the forest all together. I was becoming too crazy, too dangerous. I actually had to obliviate two fifth years because I heard them discuss the weird things that happened among the Hufflepuff first years, what could be the reason behind it and if it could possibly be related to the rumors of the Heir of Slytherin being in the school.

I had been reckless.

Once, Marvyn had asked me to retrieve another chest for him and when I came back, some random Ravenclaw saw me exit the secret passage, so I had to obliviate her. Sadly, I was too out of my shoes to notice her boyfriend a few feet behind her, who almost got me with a _Stupefy_.

Of course, I had overreacted and sent a column of almost raw magic, barely molding it into some kind of messed up Black Energy, right through his guts. Black Energy, also called Obsidian Light, was a nasty piece of dark magic I had tried to learn. Its purpose was to fuck up the target, internally. It was different for everybody, but most of the time it wrecked their emotions, their thoughts and their nerves and could be a really useful spell when mastered. I had to obliviate him and let him shiver and puke whilst crying on the floor, wondering if he'd be okay. There was no counter curse to Black Energy, especially not to a messed up attempt like this one.

I was fucked up. And I decided that enough was enough.

So I stopped everything, since the start of winter break. I slept ten hours per days and ate three meals per days. Mind cleared and headache gone, I was able to think straight again.

I had made a list, a summary of my plans and how I had advanced in them.

_First is to learn how defend my secrets, namely how to Obliviate and become an Occlumens._ This step was very well gone, I was really good at obliviation and my fortress was already strong enough to resist a standard Legilimens.

_Second is to actually defend my secret, by acting like a standard Hufflepuff and raising no suspicion._ This step wasn't too bad until now but I had to work on it harder.

_Third is to learn how to be efficient in combat if something fucks up_. No problems on this step, I had an impressive arsenal of dark magic and combat spells if I needed to. And to train with them made my magic muscle much more powerful than it should be at twelve year old.

_Fourth is to find everything I can on necromancy._ This one was going rather slowly, but it was going nonetheless.

_Fifth is to make a scheme on how to successfully get her back - body, mind, soul and magic._ This step was still at a standstill.

_Sixth, make tests until I'm one hundred percent sure of what I'm doing. _Waiting for step five.

_Seventh, bring her back._

Yep, I was still far from even having an idea of how to successfully revive her. It looked impossible, unattainable. And it probably was, which made it even worse. _But getting depressed over that isn't gonna help much._

_I made a promise, I won't rest until she's back on this world. And if it's impossible, I'll die working on it._

I wrote down the name _Jagdish Chanda_ on my notebook and closed it. _I'll find this guy's whereabouts and pay him a visit. _

I knew it would be quite the journey but I needed to try something to make my project go forward. _Thankfully, I'm filthy rich. All of this would have been three times harder if not..._

_But money can't really help me find this legendary archivist..._ I suddenly remembered the paper pinned on the inn's wall I had seen when I was in Knockturn Alley a few weeks before. It had attracted my attention because it was displaying a list of wanted wizards. _On top of this, there was an announce. A detective guild, headquarters located in Russia, if I remember right. Brilliant._

The decision was taken, I'd hire a detective to find Jagdish, this way I could stay at the castle and I was assured that the guy knew what he was doing. Those kind of guilds were very old and proud, they accepted only the most skilled candidates. Fail a job and you tarnish the whole guild's reputation, that was unthinkable. You'd get fired immediately, if not killed.

However, the performance would most likely be rather expensive, depending on what class of detective you'd hire. _I'll probably take the best I can with what I have._

On my starting funds of 30 000 galleons, I had 28 000 left. I had spent two thousand galleons in a year and three month. Books had been expensive, especially the one on soul magic, aging potion had been expensive too, even when I bought it myself for 80 galleons in Knockturn Alley, and various spending like my wardbreaker scope, ingredients for my homemade pepper up brews, Christmas gifts for housemates and such increased the monthly bill by quite a lot.

But I had no idea of how much would a detective ask for this job, so I decided to go take a look. It was Tuesday, in the middle of the Christmas break, Hogsmeade would be overflowing with people buying stuff, being unseen would be a piece of cake.

I stuffed my things in my satchel and rose up, nodded politely to madam Pince and walked to the one eyed witch statue.

Two Dissendium later, I was in a busy Honeydukes shop, pushing my way through the crowd slowly. I was in no hurry, I appreciated the Christmas ambiance around me and even tasted a few candies. There were kids everywhere, begging their parents to buy a pound of Blueberry Jellytongue and running around the shelves like little imps. _If this place wasn't magically hardened, those kids would have destroyed everything._

I spent a little twenty minutes looking around in my teenaged body and finally flooed to Diagon Alley from the local travel shop, then hurried to Knockturn Alley, forcing myself to not lose too much time looking at the infinite wonders of Diagon Alley during winter holidays.

In Knockturn Alley, the sudden change in ambiance was even more shocking at Christmas, there was a few decorations on some shops here and there, but the alley kept its trademark grimness, as if the dwellers did their best to contrast with Diagon Alley.

I reached the nearest Black Bricks portal and tapped it.

The mood in level two was already more Christmas-like, there was a huge Christmas tree in the center of the place, illuminating the buildings around with its flying lanterns and hundreds of magical fireflies buzzing in the its branches. Level two's central place was definitely the real Knockturn Alley entrance.

I blended in the mass and made my way to the inn, I spotted four Aurors in official garb arresting a big man in a side street. _So they do come here..._

It was a wonder how supposedly light wizards could enter this place, only accessible by Black Bricks. Apparition, portkey, and floo travel were blocked by the natural complexity of the place but also by wards set up by the local crime lords. While floo travel only redirected you to level one, apparating in there would probably obliterate you.

I found the tavern and pushed the door, revealing the cheerful ambiance inside. Good old tavern music was playing, with all the accordions and flutes necessary, and people were shouting, playing cards, betting on underground sports and generally drinking a lot of weird-looking beverage. I reached the bulletin board, buying a bottle of HorseBeer - they wouldn't sell ButterBeer in this place - on the way and read the part about detectives whilst taking a mouthful.

**_Need to find, to track someone or to discover their darkest secrets? Contact the renowned Detective Guild of Novosibirsk. Notorious for its efficiency since 1807, the DGN offers the services of the best detectives in the world. At its head Vsevolod Lev, of the Vsevolod House, and other well known names like the handsome Italian genius Simone Amedeo and the French Metamorphmagus femme fatale Astride Emeline._**

**_To contact the DGN, call "The Detective Guild of Novosibirsk" with any floo device._**

The bulletin was large and displayed a beautiful picture of an old rock fortress somewhere in the snow of Russia, along with pictures of the three detectives mentioned in the text and under it, as my memory had recalled, a bunch of wanted posters.

I looked closely at the French witch, she was sitting on the cold stone wall of the guild's headquarters and looked right in my eyes, with a superior look she must have worked on for years to get it so perfectly with her small size.

_Petite, thin but not too much, and a metamorphmagus with that. How exciting - useful I meant, a pity she's probably way out of my budget._

I had to make a floo call, but using public fireplaces wasn't an option, I needed a place more private. Hogwarts had no floo call service and even if they had, I couldn't trust it not to be under surveillance.

Home. _If you can call it like that..._

I peered at my watch, it was four in the afternoon, the happy Potter family was sure to be outside for a family outing.

I strode to the nearest transportation shop, tossed a handful of sickles on the empty counter, not bothering to make sure it was enough, and activated the floo fire. I stepped in the flames and called "Potter House, Godrick's Hollow, Great-Britain - as Potter." The last bit was to speed up the process, this way, the floo wouldn't have to lose time checking _why_ I was blocked since it would look for blood wards immediately and allow me to enter.

I walked out of the fire with assurance, being used to floo travel by now, and looked around. Nobody in the living room. I walked to the glass door and scanned the backyard, they weren't here either.

"Anybody home?" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

Nothing.

I walked back to the floo, tossed a bit of powder in it and stuck my head inside it, calling out loud "The Detective Guild of Novosibirsk", almost butchering the Russian name.

I waited a bit, pulled a seat from behind me and sat on it just as the connection opened.

"Здравствуйте -" started an old witch before I could stop her.

"English please."

"Hello and welcome to The Detective Guild of Novosibirsk, how can I help you?" she greeted in a creaky voice.

"I have a work for the guild and I'd like to get an estimation of the cost, and eventually to seal the deal as quickly as possible."

"What kind of work?" she started writing on a parchment I couldn't see.

"Find someone with nothing more than a name and a few locations."

"Is this person hiding?" she asked, peering at me over her half-moon glasses.

"Probably, but not from me." I replied, thinking at the same time. I didn't know if this guy was hiding, the book was ninety years old after all, everybody probably forgot about archivist Chanda.  
"Actually, I don't know, it's just that the information I have on him is old, almost a century old. He may even be dead." _Thinking about it, I could have at least tried to look for him before resorting to detectives. I was too hasty._

"Very well, do you have a preference in the person you want to work for you?" she asked, eyes on her parchment.

"No, but don't give me a new recruit, I want someone able on this."

"Every detective in our guild is a top class detective, place and date for the first appointment please." she harrumphed haughtily, apparently outraged at my rudeness.

"Great Britain, London, Knockturn Alley, Second Layer, _The Leprechaun Hut_ tavern, as soon as possible."

She finished writing and nodded.

"Mister?"

"Mister Books." I answered simply.

"Expect the performance to cost around five to ten thousand galleons." I nodded. She scribbled a few more note on her paper and put her quill down to hold the parchment closer to her eyes.

"Mr. Books, tomorrow, eight o'clock, Great Britain, London, Knockturn Alley, Second Layer, _The Leprechaun Hut_ tavern." she repeated slowly. I was getting impatient, it wouldn't be good at all to be found like that by James and Lily.

"That's good for me. Who's my contact?"

"Ms Selena Lizaveta, grade four detective, member since 1985, do you want a listing of her past achievements?" _Oh why the hell not. That could be fun to read, I don't have much to do since I stopped Occlumency and dark magic..._

"Yes, thank you."

The green fire fizzled and danced when she forced the roll of parchment through it. The ward wouldn't allow it if I didn't grab it on my side.

I grabbed it and pocket it.

We politely greeted good day to each other and I cut the call, only to throw in a new pinch of floo powder before stepping in.

"Honeydukes shop, Hogsmeade."

* * *

I was sitting at the table in the corner, watching the tavern fill up slowly, there wasn't much people at this hour. As I watched the chubby waitress pour HorseBeer in a wizard's tankard and giggle softly as he reached her thighs before wiggling out of his area, I unrolled the parchment roll the guild had given to me yesterday.

I had planned to read it before going to bed but the opportunity to rob every first year of their money in a Exploding Snap tournament between the ones who stayed in the castle had kept me occupied for the evening. _Can't believe this Lavender girl had the incredible luck of calling three explosions in a row, turning the bank against me for the ten final rounds..._

I had ended up second by ten points, Lavender was first only by luck. _Bitch didn't even skip when that Ravenclaw called the second explosion on her left neighbor and missed, she had like a chance on twenty to escape the explosion..._

I shook my head, this game had left a bitter taste in my mouth, and started to read the list of my detective's achievements.

**_Selena Lizaveta, joined the Detective Guild of Novosibirsk in August 1985 with a score of 91/100 at the entrance examination. Candidates scoring under 80/100 are rejected._**

**_First assignment: December 1985- February 1986:_**

**_Employer: Mr. Nels.  
Category: Tracking.  
Context: N/A.  
Result: Success.  
Comments: "Intelligent and quick-witted, very professional."- Mr. Nels._**

**_Second assignment: September 1986 - December 1987:_**

**_Employer: French Ministry of Magic, Drug Department.  
Category: Tracking, Undercover infiltration, Cooperation with authority forces.  
Context: Sent along with Mrs. Emeline to assist a French task force in charge of dismantling a drug cartel in south-west France.  
Result: Success.  
Comments: "Sharp and reliable element, not afraid of going in the field, good teamwork abilities." - Mr. Destombes, French Captain Auror of the Drug Department._**

_That sounds more like mercenary than detective work._

**_Third assignment: Janua-_**

"Mr. Books, please." asked a female voice with a slight Slavic accent.

I rose my head up and saw the innkeeper point at me, showing the lady where I was.

She walked to me, dodging a waitress bringing food to another table and sat on the chair in front of me. She then started waving her wand around us, setting privacy charms on our table.

She was trying to look serious and business-like but I caught her watching me out of the corner of her eye, a slight surprised look on her face.

A very cute face with that, noticeable eastern European features but with dark red hair, probably not natural but very sexy nonetheless. She was tall, thin and busty, her cleavage was unbearable to a sixteen years old who was sixteen only a few times per year. Her leather jacket and corset didn't help me focus on the deal, nor the whole Indiana Jones look with the adventurer hat and the pockets belt around her wasp waist.

"So, Mr. Books?" asked the twenty five or something witch when she was done with the charms, rolling the R with the typical Slavic accent. Our table was now totally silent, no sound came in our out.

"That's me alright, and you would be Miss Lizaveta?" I asked with a smile, looking right in her eyes. _Thank Merlin I know Occlumency... If she were to read in my mind right now..._

"Yes, so what is the deal, Mr. Books?" she asked, leaning forward to hear me out. I started explaining immediately to avoid staring stupidly at her chest or lips.

"Jagdish Chanda. Last info I have on him dates from ninety years ago, he was sixty at that time. He's either dead or 150 years old. I need to find and contact him. Last known location, India, in some mountain." I explained to the intoxicating witch, peering only two time down her welcoming twin hills. Of course she caught me both time.

"Mmh, is that all the information you have?" she questioned with an amused smile, tickling her notebook with her quill.

"I also know he may be insane or hiding, but that's not sure at all." I added, knowing it wasn't very useful.

She nodded and snapped her finger, the charms over our table suddenly vanished, overwhelming us with the sound of the mildly busy tavern.

"Two firewhiskies!" she shouted to the barman, rising her hand in the air. The barman nodded and turned to grab two glasses.

She turned to me, giving me a toothy smile.

"Now let's discuss the how and the why, Mr. Books." she started, definitely having fun. "You are around fifteen or seventeen, you're probably in school, probably in Hogwarts too."

The innkeeper came with our glasses and placed them on the table. Miss Lizaveta snapped her fingers and closed the charms around us, bringing silence back, and took a sip.

"What are you trying to say?" I asked, weary.

"At your age, I was wondering how many and which men I wanted in my bed for the night, I wasn't spending thousands of galleons to find some old wizard who may even be dead..." she shrugged slightly.  
"And according to how you're drooling all over my assets, I'd say you're not uninterested in the pleasures of life, so, what makes you seek this man? What could possibly be more important than having fun in school for a handsome young man like you?" she asked, staring intensively in my eyes.

"This is Christmas holidays, I'm taking a break." I lied, "And my reasons to find this man are private, I will not give them." I stated simply, taking a sip on my dink too.

"So strong and mysterious... I bet you wet all the panties in Hogwarts, don't you?" she laughed like a siren singing in my ears.

I ignored the comment and changed the topic.

"You were in Durmstrang?"

She nodded.

"How was it?"

"Not the dark wizard factory everyone seems to picture when you say Durmstrang. It's old, stony and the teachers are harsh but except for that, it's a normal place. I had a lot of fun." she sighed.  
"Being a detective is really great but I miss the sweet student life in Durmstrang. Having fun, sleeping with all the men, learning magic, those were great times." she smiled morosely and finished her glass.  
"That's why I wonder why someone like you would want to spend so much money to chase an old Indian wizard."

I looked at her and preferred finishing my glass too instead of answering.

"So, while you will be doing whatever and whoever, I'll be looking for this guy." she said, taking a more serious voice. "If I find him, what do you want me to tell him?"

"There is nothing to tell him, just let me know where he is and arrange a meeting between us. I need to meet him myself."

"What's your full name? I need it to owl you." she grabbed her quill again.

_Shit, how can she contact me if I have no floo and no fake name registered to the owl post?_

She seemed to sense my anxiety and smiled.

"I can always register you to my personal owl, this way you won't need a full name. Or even a real name." she offered impishly with a wink. She was toying with me.

"That would be incredibly helpful." I accepted with a small bow. She laughed and stood up.

"Take a room, I'll fetch my owl and we'll work that out together."

A few minutes later, we were in a small room above the tavern. Her owl was watching us quietly from the bed table.

The owl registration process had been quite long and even in a room, the magical disturbance from everyone in the tavern still made it harder for the magic to not be disturbed.

But it had been done, and at the moment, I was tasting Selena's mouth, testing the softness of her lips and the reactions of her tongue. She giggled softly as I bit her upper lip, or maybe it was because I couldn't slip my fingers in either her corset or pants, no matter how I tried. _Her clothes are too damn tight, I can't get in here._

She stopped the kiss with her fingers, and pushed me back softly, rearranging her clothes and hair.

"Now now, I feel you're taking too much confidence here, Mr. Books. Having a relationship with business partners is a bad idea." she laughed, her eyes gleaming with mischief and she licked her lips.

"We're not really partners, I'm hiring you." I tried hopefully with a grin.

"Very well, but you'll need to try harder to get anything more than a snog from me, I'm not your habitual sex-craving teenager girlfriend. And anyway, you're a bit young for my tastes." she said while getting closer to me.

"Goodbye, Mr. Books, I'll try to find your man as fast as possible."

She kissed me on the cheek and left the room, leaving me alone and horny on the bed._ Damn._

I lay on my back and thought about Sherry. I wasn't much of a Casanova, actually, my seducing skills were poor, so why did Sherry and Selena jump on me like tigers on a piece of meat? I knew I was in fact sort of handsome at sixteen, but still...

_Girls are all over me when I'm on aging potion, I wonder if the older students have as much fun as she says... My final years could prove very enjoyable..._

I grinned and stood up. _There should be a quality brothel somewhere in third or fourth layer._

* * *

"Good luck for the match, Harry!" encouraged Rosaline from further down the table, flashing me a wide smile.

"The weather is really better today, this should be a great match." added Loren cheerfully, tossing me an apple.  
"Eat something, it's not like you to stress before a game."

I wasn't stressed or anxious about the game, I just had a bad headache since about two months ago when I started taking Occlumency lessons again. We were in March, it had been three month since the meeting with the smoking hot detective. I hadn't received any news yet but I was confident, after reading the whole list of her past assignments I was convinced of her efficiency.

I bit in the apple, sticky juice flowed around my fingers. _Damn headache..._

Hellard said it was natural and would happen as long as I needed him to build my walls. I had asked him about the Mage Knights he had fought before dying too but he was no help, he could only tell me generalities about them.

With my extensive knowledge on rituals, I looked deeper on body enhancing rituals and came to the conclusion that it would surely be useful, but not a priority. I continued learning more and more impressive and powerful dark magic but only went in the forest two times. I forced myself to keep a natural style of life to avoid being the mess I was before the break, constantly high on pepper-up and dark magic.

"I'm not stressing, I just have a bit of a headache." I countered absently, munching on my green apple.

"You should go to madam Pomfrey, you often have headaches don't you?" Loren placed her hand on my arm worriedly. _I don't think I ever talked about it, she must have noticed it..._

"I'm fine." I brushed her off, just as a brown owl swooped down from the bird stream above us and released a letter in my empty plate.

I took the letter and opened it, wondering what it could be.

I didn't get to wonder for long. On the letter was written in sharp letters **_DGN - S. Lizaveta_** and just under it **_to Mr. Books._**

"What is it about?" asked Louise in front of me, Loren simply leaned on me to see the letter.

"Personal stuff." I stood up abruptly, shoving Loren aside and grabbed my satchel. "I gotta grab my broom and go, see you after the match." I strode to the massive great hall gate and ran in the first empty place I found.

I closed the door behind me, watched around me and casted a quick _Homenum Revelio_, not very reliable in such a magically crowded place but still useful. There was apparently nobody in the room.

I feverishly unfolded the letter, exposing its content.

**_Mr. Books, I have successfully verified the fact that the target is alive and in India, near the Sahyadri mountains. However, very few people have seen him, he seems to live a hermit life and hide from civilization._**

**_But that is what people in this region believe, not what I believe. I have reasons to think he is among the magical population in the Madikeri town, I even found someone who let slip that he knows him but he wouldn't say anything more, I don't think I'm the only person chasing this man._**

**_Anyway, I have a plan for you to meet him. I know a few places where he might be and if we make him understand we mean no harm, maybe he will show up. But I'd need you with me, I can't meet him on my own only to tell him I'm hired by someone. Not if he's hiding from someone else._**

**_I told Rain, my owl, to stay in Hogwarts' owlery until you answer me. Don't call her Rain, her real name is the Russian word for rain and she'd hate it._**

**_S. L._**

I threw my fist in the air. _Yes! I knew it, he's alive!_

_Now she wants me to go in India and check a few places to find him? That could take time, and I can't afford time, not when I'm still in Hogwarts._

I summoned a chair, sat on it and stroked my chin, thinking intensively. _Why not, after all? I already lost enough time as it is, I can very well disappear from Hogwarts for a day or two. I'll invent some shit, they can't read my mind anyway. The sooner I meet this guy, the sooner I can set my plans in motion concerning Necromancy._

I walked to the owlery, ignoring everybody looking weirdly at me on the way. "The match is in five minutes, boy!" called a student. Like I cared about a stupid Quidditch match anymore.

I found Rain waiting for me in a corner of the cage. She flew to me as soon as I motioned her to.

**_Understood, will travel with you. Take care of everything, will cover expenses. Rendez-vous Friday night, 00:00, same place as last time. Reply only if necessary._**

Happy with my reply, I folded the letter and attached it to Rain's leg and watched her fly away in the blazing twilight above the lake.

I grabbed my broom and sprinted to the pitch. I didn't care about missing it or being thrown out of the team, but flying was a pleasure I'd have tonight, be it with the team or on my own.

When I arrived, the match had started. I saw 30/0 in favor of Slytherin on the giant scoreboard above the spectator seats.

Diggory, being seeker, saw me immediately and called for a pause. The whole team flew to me, some a bit worried, some a bit relieved, but all of them angry.

"Harry, where the fuck have you been, we can't afford this kind of bullshit anymore!" shouted Diggory in my face, it was exceptional for him to shout with such anger and even more to swear.

"We swap a player, Madam Hooch, Trenton for Harry!" he yelled toward the referee.

Trenton Bertie nodded at me and dismounted his broom. We were like that in Hufflepuff, no drama, no bullshit. When I saw all the stuff that happened in the other teams, I felt more and more like Hufflepuff was truly the best House, regardless of your intentions.

I rocketed to the sky, pushing already my broom to its best. You'd normally have to treat those cheap brooms carefully, not forcing them too much when they're cold was one of the recommended things to do. But I didn't like that, to me, broom riding was all about pushing it to the limit. _If I could try Zach's nimbus, I'd go insane. The acceleration on that beast is something else, too bad Zach is only a good flyer, his broom deserves better than just good. Me for instance._

The commentator started again, shouting and yelling names as the quaffle passed left and right. After a few minutes of flying around, I received the quaffle from Howell ahead of me in a neat feint. I plunged under Marcus Flint and Alyson Justice who retreated when they noticed the quaffle had left his hand, pulled the broom until I was on a vertical line, and accelerated to the clouds. This was way too much for a broom like that, it started thrashing and deviating but I was above the two chasers now, who were trying to follow me without falling in spite of being on nimbus 2001, and of course both bludgers had been sent to me. I waited a bit more, and just before the twigs caught on fire, I pulled hard and turned around, plummeting back down toward my pursuers. Flint avoided me, rolling to the side, and one of the bludger aimed at me hit him right in the jaw, breaking it and sending him sprawling off his broom.

"Oh my god, Potter dropped down and - FLINT TOOK A BLUDGER FROM HIS OWN BEATER! Beautiful maneuver from Potter but another bludger is closing in -"

I took a sharp turn and let my side crash violently against Justice, who took the second bludger in the ribs, dragging both of us on five yards. Only me and herself heard the terrible crack of half her ribs breaking under the impact. I threw the quaffle to the middle ring without minding their awful keeper who was looking at his captain being rescued, and caught Justice as she dropped from her broom. I watched below us and noticed Flint had been caught by the Slytherin beaters and the third chaser.

"Ouch, Potter escapes another bludger but chaser Justice doesn't have his luck, that must have broken a few bones but thankfu - OH, TEN POINTS FOR HUFFLEPUFF!" yelled the dark-skinned second year in his microphone.

With two substitutes chasers and no captain, the rest of the game was a breeze, Malfoy almost got the snitch at one point but a bludger denied him the win and an hour later we finally ended it with a clean 240/30 for Hufflepuff. Madam Hooch took me apart to explain me how to handle brooms and why my recklessness endangered everyone on the pitch. I pretended listening to her and went to the locker room, where everyone was cheering and laughing at the way we had stomped Slytherin, usually first or tied with Gryffindor.

"Harry, Harry come here!" yelled Diggory, dragging me in a group of fourth years who slapped me in the back and praised me loudly.

"Amazing stunt, Harry, what were you even trying to do?" said a guy who was named Thomas or maybe not.

"You actually planned this, right? You looked at the beaters before you decided to take a vertical course, you saw Slytherin had both bludgers, I watched you through my omnicular." teased Trix Eveleen, our keeper's girlfriend, with a sly grin.  
"You tricked them into following you up and used them as shields when the bludgers came at you. You knew both bludgers where for you because you were close to the rings and you made a perfect target above everybody else on your unreliable broom." she explained grinning viciously.

I laughed softly and shrugged innocently.

"That's not what madam Hooch seems to believe, miss Eveleen, or she would have taken me out of the pitch immediately." I replied with my own sly grin to the popular and unusually busty fourth year. _If I'd be only one or two years older, I could probably get her horizontal just by snapping my fingers..._

The cheerful ambiance in the locker room moved into the dormitories for a victory party that ended at midnight, at least for us puny second years.

Rumors about the attacks and the chamber of secrets were still spreading around but nobody had any real information. It didn't interest me much anyway, after a quick look on its history, I came to the conclusion that it most likely had nothing to do with Necromancy.

People around me were scared, Loren had lost her happy-crazy touch that had made me stick with her and Louise wanted to go nowhere without a group of guys around her and kept following me, holding my arm like a lost pup.

But the chamber and whoever was doing whatever to random students was the last thing on my mind. I was going to India in three days, getting fresh air, using some magic outside of my trips in the forest and the minor spells we were taught in class, and escorting Selena the sexy detective for an adventure. It was going to be like a barrel of fresh water in a desert.

I rolled over in my bed, kicking the sheets off, and looked at my clock. It was two o'clock, the party was over for everyone now but I couldn't sleep. The thrill of the match and the promise of a jaunt in India prevented me from sleeping, my magic was in turmoil.

I slowly got up, making sure to be noiseless, and grabbed my wand. I muttered two incantation and I started dressing up. The silencing charm and Notice-Me-Not were enough to go unnoticed in the dormitory, I knew that very well.

After putting my clothes on, I crossed the room and walked in the common room. It was empty, except for a seventh year couple sleeping together in a couch. I paid them no mind and reached the entrance, a stone arch with climbing plants all over it and storm lanterns on each side. The passage was open to anybody, there was no password or whatever, Hufflepuffs had nothing to hide. _Nothing at all._

Soon, I was walking along the rocks I knew so well behind the gatekeeper's hut. The sky was bright as ever in this part of the world, the moon and stars light made the fog white-blue, the plants white-blue and the earth white-blue. Everything was another shade of white and dark blue. I breathed the chill and moist air and felt my body unwind, mesmerized by the never steady water of the lake gleaming with reflects of the milky way.

I entered the woods, breaking twigs and branches under my feet, wand ready. I knew my way quite well around the first miles of the forest, I took my usual path, walked in my own footprints and pushed the same fern branches I always pushed. When I reached the small river in which I had bathed one time, I took left and walked into a part I had never walked before.

Ten minutes later, I found a target. _Correction, the target found me._

I was in front of three horned Zebras, all identical, they had huge sharp ram-like horns and their stripes were made of blue fire. I could feel the heat from a hundred yards away, distorting the air, twisting it around them like they ripped a hole in reality, illuminating the forest with a bright blue aura. _Those aren't carnivorous, there's just no way. Why do they look at me like that..._

I didn't know what they were, there were so many magical species in those huge magical forests...

They were looking right at me, and tapped their hoofs on the earth in sharps motions. I was near the water stream, the place wasn't clear of trees but still far from the usual dense forest. I didn't want to attack those ones, they were downright magnificent and probably very rare and dangerous. But they didn't look like they were about to let me be.

The middle one suddenly _charged_ at me, neighing loudly, a thunder-like sound, echoing through my mind like an explosion curse cast at point blank. I faltered and took a step back. _This thing as psychic abilities! Occlumency just saved my life._

Indeed, not five second after the knocking neigh, the three beasts were almost on me, ready to impale me on their horns at full speed and tear me apart. _Not today, motherfuckers!_

The explosion curse correlation was still in my mind from before, it was the first thing that came to my mind as I charged toward the zebra in the center to avoid letting them surround me.

"Frangerium!" I shouted, aiming directly at the ground in front of it and plunging. Striking it directly probably wouldn't work, I could tell those creatures were heavily magical and thus resistant to it.

The ground exploded silently in a large ball of rock and earth, I landed on my front, covering my head from shrapnel. The middle zebra _jumped _just in time to avoid being blasted away and landed on its legs, ten yards behind me. The two others were pushed sideways and fell to the ground.

I stood up and turned around. Steam was evaporating from the left one who fell in the river and was getting back on its hoofs with dignity. The one who had jumped charged at me again, trying another mental strike, I aimed at it and shouted as hard as I could "Kroz Sve!". The good ol' perforation curse bounced off its fur and flew in the sky. I dove to the side, avoiding the wide horn swing by a few inches, aimed at the floor again and transfigured a mud pool in an acid pool, only to send another silent explosion to it. The acid flew all over the place, I rolled behind a bush and avoided most of it, getting a few drops on my cloak, but the beast was hit. It wailed madly and ran into the river, its fire blazing twice as strong as before, increasing the already unbearable heat and making me sweat some more.

I stood up and dove to the ground immediately, as the two others tried to take me in a clamp maneuver. I hadn't the time to pick myself up, my mind was in a blur again, magic streaming in my veins, adrenaline overflowing in my brain, I aimed at the two zebras and unleashed all of my might in a single curse.

"Frigidi Mortem!" I bellowed, my voice itself boosted by magic. The cold wave curse was one of the most popular dark battle curse. Literally The Cold Breath Of Death, it was insanely powerful and hard to master. I wasn't a master yet but had a certain affinity with it.

Magic shot from my forearm to the tip of my wand with a blinding blue light, and a enormous wave of cold exploded from it, freezing everything in its path. The blue fire was instantly frozen, replaced by flames-shaped immobile ice, as the zebra themselves where cryogenized. The trees, earth, rocks and everything else in front of me were either pure ice or encased in a thick layer of frozen matter.

I writhed on the floor, experiencing the most intense bout of pleasure ever, my wand was welded to my palm and fingers, shaking as hard as I was. I sensed the remaining beast approach me carefully, it had washed the acid on its fur and was now watching its brothers apprehensively.

I stood up with much difficulty and hold a nearby tree trunk. My body was now feeding on the pleasure, no longer ruled by it.

But as I readied myself to fight the last one, I heard something that made my blood freeze faster than the curse I had used could have.

"Harry!"

I spun around, pointing my wand at a small girl running toward me. _Loren! What the fuck is Loren doing here? Did she see me?_

"Oh my god Harry! You're hurt!" she jumped on me eagerly, crying heavily. "I couldn't do anything, it went so fast, these beasts attacked you all of a sudden!"

_She saw everything. Can't let that go can we?_

The remaining zebra ran away as it saw Loren, probably scared of having to fight two wizards when it saw what only one could do.

"I'm alright, I'm alright, but what are you doing here, Loren?" I was ready to whip out an _Expelliarmus_ anytime.

"I... I followed you. I saw you going out the other night and I ... I wondered where you went, and then I wondered if you could be..." she whimpered, crying in my shirt. _What the fuck is she rambling about...  
_"So I followed you, but then you went in the forest and I got really scared, and now that!" she raised her wet face to me and pulled on my robes.  
"You're the Heir, aren't you?" she whispered desperately in a sob. _The Heir? She thinks I'm the one behind all this shit?_

"What? No I'm not, listen, if I was the Heir, why would I train in the forest? I'm training here to... be able to defend my friends if we are attacked! To defend you!" I affirmed convincingly, wondering at the same time why I wasn't just obliviating her. _I know I should, but... I really don't want to. She's one of the only Hufflepuff of my year I never obliviated in spite of talking to her at least ten times per day. And that won't change._

She looked in my eyes and muttered a low "really?" that sounded more like whimper.

"Listen, I got my secrets and my problems, but I swear on my magic I'm not the Heir, you trust me, don't you?" I sheathed my wand and slipped my arms around her. I had a plan to avoid obliviating her.

Young witches, no matter what, will forget any incredible feat of magic they just witnessed if you give them something more interesting from their point of view, like a romantic kiss under the moonlight. _She doesn't have any idea of how advanced and dark this stuff is anyway._

"I want to, Harry." she moaned in my neck as I slid my hand on her lower back. I raised her chin with my other hand and looked in her grey eyes for a few seconds, the tears had stopped flowing but she was still wet and red, I leaned on her and reached her lips with mine. The kiss was enjoyable, not fierce and passionate like with Sherry, but warm and intense. _A lover kiss, probably._

I brought her back to the dormitory, not mentioning my training or the magic I had performed even once, she had already forgot about that. She was visibly shaken, the night had been emotionally charged at the very least. I charmed her to be silent without her noticing and kissed her goodnight for a good five minutes, she was quite the snogger apparently.

As I walked back to my bed carefully, my mind was whirling. I knew I could keep her silent, she probably wouldn't think about telling someone about the fight, but still, she was a breach. _A breach I'm willing to keep open, but if something happen, I need to be able to close it. After all a quick obliviation isn't like murder, she wouldn't even remember..._

I reached the necklace and adamantine phial around my neck and closed my hand around them. _I won't give you up for anything, princess._

I forced my mind to close the topic and thought about the freezing curse. A grin spread on my lips.

_Now __**that**__ was great..._

* * *

I had no plans for the few days until my rendezvous with Miss Lizaveta, so Loren's vital need to have me around her wasn't technically a problem. She didn't take the initial kiss in the forest lightly, we were now officially dating. Not that I didn't want to, she had a natural aptitude for French kisses, but it made her so damn clingy. _At least she's back to her usual self, always raving about some crazy nonsense..._

"-so just because he didn't manage the ice cube conjuration, he got sent to Azkaban. Quite silly, isn't it?" she finished her tale with a short kiss on my closed lips. I hadn't listened at all.

"I'm sorry I have no idea what you were on about, I was just thinking maybe, just _maybe_ - we should think about our relationship." I suggested cautiously, I was walking on eggs at this point.  
"I mean, should we really be together in front of everyone, you know it's gonna cause gossips and all..." I forced a whinny voice "It's going to destroy everything." I concluded.

It was hit or miss, worth a shot at the very least. _Maybe she'll actually let me be... I'm meant to disappear in two days, if I don't shake her off now it's going to be a real crisis._

"You want to hide?" she raised her eyebrows, still sitting in my lap with her arms around me. Very few people had seen us yet, the situation was salvageable.

"Consider all the gossips we heard back in first year, everytime some couple get in together and make it public, they break up after a few weeks. Only the ones who admit being a couple later actually last." I tried, realizing it was essentially true. _Weird, I might actually not be lying here, interesting phenomenon to study if I hadn't my hands full yet...  
_"Seriously, try to remember, it's true!" I said, convincing myself on the way.

She narrowed her eyes, visibly in deep thoughts and nodded slightly.

"You're right..." she murmured slowly like she had the revelation of the century. "You're a freaking genius Harry, you discovered what's wrong with all these couples!" she declared happily.

_Is she making fun of me?_ I couldn't say, Loren was really one of her kind, fairly clever but yet so dumb. She watched the world from her own point of view, as peculiar as it was, and she didn't care.

"Very well, then, we'll keep it secret for the time being, but that's no reason to stop snogging."

She pulled me by my collar and kissed me again, showing unusual lust for that age. _Or maybe it is usual. Can't really say, I'm the fucked up one here with my aging potion abuses and ten years older conquests..._

After a few sweet minutes of mindless snog, she finally let me go and we walked to the great hall for breakfast.

In the final corridor to the hall, we were stopped by someone I never thought would openly interact with me.

"Sod off, cutie, I need a word with Potter here." ordered Marvyn dismissively without even sparing a glance for Loren.

She waited for me to nod and trotted away after shooting me a worried smile. The corridor was empty except for us both.

"Potter, I understand you thinks the sun shines out of your arsehole after that marvelous stunt of the last match, so I thought I had to make the situation clear." he started, seemingly pissed enough to not pretend being nice.  
"You work for me, Potter, and when I write an order in your notebook, I expect you _to fucking do it!_" he barked madly, his voice echoing in the corridor.

He smiled and straightened his back, regaining his composure.

"So, first you humiliate Flint with an unnecessary stunt, placing yourself in more danger than you can possibly imagine, and now you outright ignore my calls!" he said, this time waving his arms around like he was acting a theater play. It looked like he wasn't serious at all but with his previous outburst and his general tendency to be batshit insane, I knew better than to think he was taking it lightly.

I had indeed forgotten about the enchanted notepad, since I didn't need Marvyn for anything. _But I wasn't going to do his little chores anyway, was I?_

It was time to cut my ties with the seventh year Slytherin. The mere thought made me shiver. _Grow some balls, Potter, a quick obliviation is all it takes..._

Obliviation was one of those spells who got harder to perform according to the target's magical strength, and my only experience were second years and muggles.

"Do I consider myself fired then? Too bad, been a pleasure to work with you, mate!" I teased, before walking past him. I knew he would lost it.

And he did. I spun around, wand already drawn and sidestepped the murky magenta curse, letting it graze my robe with confidence. He didn't expect to see me counterattack, he had already lowered his wand.

"Obliviate!"

His eyebrow reached his hairline and he attempted a sidestep, but was too late. The charm barely connected, but it did. I erased all his memories concerning me, it was already hard to override his own control over them, so I didn't lose time and strength trying to make it coherent. I deleted _everything _and covered my tracks with random memories I couldn't see. _There isn't much anyway, it shouldn't be too obvious._

When the spell ended, I quickly hit him with a _Petrificus Totalus_. I looked around, and spotted five paintings watching at us in the corridor.

"The memory charm? Very strange choice, young man, but it did work!" said a fat queen clothed in bright green robes and with a dead fox around her wide neck. "You should hurry and call a professor."

I walked to Marvyn, who probably had no idea of what was going on and grabbed his wand. He was on his back, immobilized, watching the ceiling. He could easily break the minor body-bind but since he had no idea what happened, he was surely still wondering why he couldn't move.

And I couldn't afford casting a _Stupefy _on him, not if I wanted to follow my hastily put together plan. _And to think it took me almost a full month to finally get the Stupefy working, such a shame..._

I aimed his wand at the furthest painting from me and sent a weak _Voraxignium _with a jagged flick. The spell was still very, very hard to perform - especially with a stranger's wand - but I needed to be sure the painting wouldn't survive.

A ball of white fire erupted from the end of the wand and shot to the painting in a straight line. I immediately felt the exhaustion from the curse, watching the illegal fire reach its target about three times as slowly as it should be. The ball crashed on the painting, consuming the fireproof and various protective charms on it and reducing it to ashes in less than two seconds. _Perfect, four to go._

The four remaining paintings watched the ash pile that contained their ex-friend with bewildered looks. Before they took time to act, I had sent two of the dark gluttonous fire balls and definitely cut their exit - Hogwarts paintings could travel from frame to frame if they were close enough.

My magic muscle was hurting badly, the weak pleasure I got from burning less-than-half-living beings wasn't sufficient to make me forget the strain this curse was.

"_Stop it! I beg you, stop this madness, we won't say anything, please!_" cried the fat queen, who had retreated in her neighbor's frame, who was shouting for help louder than I thought a painting able to.

I sent two other balls, reducing the remaining frames and paintings inside it to nothing, and turned to Marvyn, who was starting to break the body-bind hex. The procedure had taken no more than thirty second.

I obliviated him once more with my own wand and placed his in his hand. After clearing my wand's memory with a dozen easy spells aimed nowhere and a final _Petrificus Totalus _on my ex-employer, I started running.

The racket of the paintings wailing to death had alerted professor Flitwick, who had been preparing his lesson in a classroom in the next corridor.

"Mr. Potter! Wait, Mr. Potter!" I stopped and turned to him, panicked and crying. _Flitwick, thanks Merlin, I can fool this one easily._

"Professor! Something happened, this Slytherin older student, he... he menaced me because of the Quidditch match!" I wept, pointing to Marvyn behind us, who was awaking from the post-obliviation coma and starting to understand that he was in a body-bind.

Flitwick immediately saw him break the charm, he whipped his wand out with eagle reflexes and stunned him.

He approached him, crouched and made sure he was out.

"Harry, tell me what happened."

I swallowed gravely and nodded.  
"He told me about the Quidditch match and how he didn't like me humiliating Flint like that, he told me he was going to hurt me and obliviate me afterwards," I started, keeping the act.  
"Then he burned all the paintings to show me he was serious and didn't want any witnesses, and he... he aimed at me but I was faster, so I hit him with a Petrificus Totalus." I finished lamely. The story could have been reworked, sharpened to fit better, but it didn't matter much. _Marvyn's gonna be expelled for that, he and only he will wonder why he doesn't remember, they'll just call him a liar._

He took the wand and examined it, looking sadly at the ash piles on the stone floor, shook his head and stood up - which made no difference considering his goblin shape.

"Go take your breakfast, Potter, I will take care of that." he assured gently before scooping stunned Marvyn off the floor and walking away muttering something like "... always knew something was wrong with this chap..."

I walked back in the great hall, exhausted and tired. The lie made everyone gasp at the Hufflepuff table, and Loren hardly contained her need to hug me tightly to make sure I was alright.

"Petrificus Totalus?" she asked, surprised.

"Yeah, it's all that came to my mind at the moment." I answered, shrugging. _She saw me cast massive dark curses after all, even if she doesn't know how dark and massive they were, it must have been impressive.  
_"Sometimes, you don't need much to defend yourself." I explained to her with a wink. She smiled knowingly and said nothing.

"True, so true..." laughed Cedric, throwing an arm on my shoulders, "Good job, Harry, I don't want to imagine what that creepy prefect was planning to do to you," he winced, "How terrible that would have been for the team..." he shook his head and sighed.

"You git!" yelled Nolwenn, outraged, along with a dozen girls who heard him and tossed a bread slice at him.

He ran away, laughing heartily. "Sure is popular with women, our ickle Harry!"

A couple hours later, McGonagall made a public speech condemning Marvyn to be expelled and insisting on the seriousness of the situation, with the vehemence that made her famous in the whole magical Britain.

The rest of the day passed slowly, I spent most of it pondering about what I would say to Loren when I'd disappear suddenly for the weekend. I couldn't find anything good so I just pushed the thought away. _I'll burn this bridge when I come to it._

* * *

**_AN: Damn, that was a long one..._**


	7. Chapter 7

**_J. K. Rowling is owned by Harry Potter and the various companies that have the rights. Wait, did that come out wrong?_**

* * *

**.**

**Too Young to Die.**

**.**

**Chapter 7.**

**.**

* * *

"Can I trust you with that?" I asked pleadingly.

"You need to sneak out the castle for the _whole _week-end?" replied incredulously Loren, goggling me as if I had grown a second head.

I nodded.

"Harry, what on earth is wrong with you, where are you going anyway?" she whined, this time pouting slightly.

"I can't tell you, it's about my family, you know we're under a vow of silence, to protect Zachary and all that."

The lie was unbelievable, too crazy, too inconsistent to be probable. I was being vaguer than vague, making it up as I talked to her, if she tried she could drive me to corner myself easily. _I don't even remember how I started the lie..._

She sighed.

"Well... I guess I can say I saw you in the library if I'm asked, but they're going to notice you're missing when night comes."

_She's in! I fucking love you Loren!_

"Yeah, don't try to cover me too much, I'll find something afterwards." I smiled widely, seizing her hand. She looked in my eyes and smiled sadly as I leaned to kiss her a hundredth time.

"And you're going... when?" she whispered, her face against mine.

"Now." I replied seriously. I had pushed back the moment I'd have to tell her about it as far as possible, and now it was time. Ten o'clock, Friday night.

"Oh. Well then, take care, Harry. I'll miss you." she waved as I walked away.

I grinned. She was so detached, so uninterested by details that it made it stupidly easy to make her accept anything. _She didn't even ask how I was going out._

_If there is one for me, she's the perfect girlfriend._ I thought while reaching the familiar third floor statue.

In my satchel were my shrank broom, a full phial of S-class aging potion, and a set of robes and cloak that fit my older me. Transfiguring my school robes was only acceptable for small errands, I couldn't afford to let a simple _Finite _cast for whatever reason betray my disguise. I also had brought my last three phials of boosted pepper-up concoction, my wardbreaker scope and a few other items.

I was ready to roll.

Half an hour later, I was being briefed by Selena in room number 13. She had showed up at the exact time appointed and dragged me in a room without a word.

"-that's why I'm positive he will hear about us. A wizard hiding is a wizard listening, especially an old school one like him." she finished, turning from the map she had pasted on the wall for the occasion, and faced me.

I diverted my gaze from her deliciously curved behind to her face and nodded.

"So we go in those places, ask about him out loud and hang around a bit to see if he shows up. Understood." I summed up, counting the steps on my fingers.  
"Could have done that by myself without spending a fortune on a detective..." I teased, stretching my back.

"Oh yeah? Well too bad because you hired me to do it for you." she retorted heatedly, "And I doubt a kid like you would have been able to even verify his presence in India anyway." she finished with a bitter smile.

"Relax cutie, I was just kidding; I know I wouldn't have a chance without you." I stood up and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her close to me. I was sixteen since less than an hour and the teenage cravings were already strong.

She pushed me back and tutted.

"Not so easy, Books, you can't play with me like with you do with your fangirls at Hogwarts." she laughed. I could have believed her, if it wasn't for the fact that she had settled on a ultra short velvet skirt and broad cleavage for our departure, showing how much she wanted me to play with her. _Or how much she's gonna play with me..._

"Anyway, where and how do we depart?"

"Portkey, in a few seconds." She pointed to a lamp on the bed table.

"What? I thought portkeys were blocked in the inner layers of Knockturn Alley?"

"Incoming portkeys are. Oh, here we go."

The lamp had begun glowing weakly, the time window had opened. I stood by her side, touching the portkey and got hooked away as the clock rang midnight.

The detestable sensation of being squeezed through the universe awoke my body, I stabilized myself to avoid falling like a rookie in front of Selena and took a sight of the panorama.

It was dawn in India, the sun was rising shyly from the foggy horizon, tracing rays of pale light through the billions of wet trees and low hanging clouds. We were on a mountain, the valley three thousand feet below us was enormous, filled with forest dancing with the wind and rivers flowing savagely. A sight of untamed and endless wilderness.  
At our left was a torrent of clear water dropping from the cliff into the bushy forest. It was gigantic, as far as my eyes could see there was nothing but forest and rocks.

"Nothing short of humbling, eh?" I muttered without tearing my eyes off the scenery. "You feel like you're nothing compared to such magnitude."

"Yes, it does that the first times." she agreed.

She let me appreciate the view for a while, the morning wind clashing at us vigorously, and started to walk away. I followed her up down the slope, taking a thin rocky path. Pebbles and gravel fell endlessly in the void under our feet as we walked dangerously close to the edge. Selena was unperturbed and strode down the path confidently.

We walked down the mountain for five minutes until we reached a town. The town was encased in the mountain, placed on a seemingly natural plateau.

It was amazing to see an inhabited place here, when the landscape of green, sandy yellow and blue we saw before looked as wild as the day before humanity set its foot on the planet.

The town was rather large, as secluded as it was, it was fairly populated. Food was displayed at the entrance, merchants shouting over the crowd how fresh were their goods. Selena wasn't interested in taking the tourist trip and continued walking straight through the town. _Good, neither am I._

We got deeper in the city and I noticed it wasn't as isolated as I thought, there were cars and modern shops here and there, and I spotted one of these McDonald's in a busy main street. The populace, though, was totally different from what I was used to see in London. Every person I saw could have been a wizard or a witch, there was no definite muggle or wizard clothes as far as I could tell, everybody was draped in colorful clothes, some with shorts and shirts, some with robes. I was unable to say who was a wizard and who was not.

"We're heading for the first of the three places I spotted. It's a bar named _The Hilarious Gambler_, I don't know if it's some sort of expression in their language but yeah, here it is." she indicated me the building, an old tavern made of rotten wood and flaking paint, the thin windows were whole but so dusty you couldn't see through them.

"Ladies first." I motioned her to enter with an exaggerated bow. She rolled her eyes and pushed the door, giving us a mouthful of the smoke that escaped the hermetic room. We walked inside, ignoring the few people glaring ominously at us and reached the bar. I started to ask for a drink and suddenly realized I didn't speak their language at all. As I was pondering how I could communicate, Selena called the barman and spoke to him shortly. He nodded and went to fill two glasses.

"You speak Indian?" I asked, amazed at her resourcefulness.

"It's Hindi, and yes I do speak it. Along with a few other dozen languages." she replied with a condescending tone. "I'm a worldwide and top class detective, Mr. Books, I work for the best association of detectives in the world. What did you expect? A mindless bimbo?"

I took a few seconds to answer. _She's right after all, I'm not paying for some second zone detective..._

"Well, it must take a bit of a mindless bimbo to come in such a cold place with a ten inches skirt." I joked, taking the glass from the barman.

"Oh you'll take those words back when we'll be on sea-level, I'd reckon you know how to cast cooling charms? If you don't, you can say goodbye to your cloak and robes." she mocked, then called the barman again.

This time, she spoke with him for about ten minutes, I watched the man's face and understood she was reaching sensible topics. After a few minutes she turned to me and brought her face close to mine.

"There, I told him we were looking for him and meant no harm but he kept telling me he hadn't seen him for decades." she looked around.  
"But I think he knows him, I had two persons who redirected me to him. He will probably contact him shortly."

"So, we wait?" I took a sip of my strange cocktail. She nodded.

We waited for three hours in the bar, discussing and drinking non - or barely alcoholic - beverages before giving up.

The sun was now high in the sky and the temperature had raised alarmingly. We were in the middle of a main street, chicken and dogs were racing around our legs, people were moving around on small motorized scooters and three-wheels cars, in the middle of the dense crowd, some were dragging cows or sheep along, shouting and yelling in the storm of noise. Selena was kicking pebbles angrily while striding in the street, bumping in everyone who didn't make way for her.

"By the Tsars! This was my most promising trail!" she shouted like a mad woman.

"By the Tsars?" I asked, amused at her antics. "Sounds a bit old-fashioned don't you think?" I laughed. It was a pity it didn't work out but the trip was already worth the trouble, I found myself happy despite our temporary failure.  
"Chill out, Selena, we still got two other places."

"Yeah, right. But I was certain this one would work. I'm sorry." she apologized, giving me a bashful look.

"Don't apologize before you've depleted all of your trails, we might get lucky with the next places." I was starting to get annoyed of having to cheer her up.

"Son of a bitch probably sees Jagdish everyday..." she spat furiously, kicking a stray chicken into orbit and attracting the outraged looks of a number of people. Most of the women were already openly scowling at the very, _very _short skirt of my employee and kicking chicken made nothing to improve it.

"Mmmh, if you're so sure of that, how about you read his mind to find out?" I suggested idly, waving dust and feathers away.

She stopped in her tracks, forcing me to stop too and turn to watch her questioningly.

"I'm a detective, Mr. Books, and Legilimency is not a skill detectives are authorized to use. And in most countries, even Aurors aren't." she started, "And if you intend to ask me to break the law, let me be clear on that; I will not break the vow I took when I joined the Guild of Novosibirsk, which is linked to the International Law of Witchcraft and Wizardry." she finished, hands on her hip like a caricature.

_So she's one of these uptight citizens, following the law like it comes straight out of Merlin's mouth._

"What if I did it? You wouldn't be breaking your vow." I proposed. I turned again and started to walk. This time she followed me, hurrying to catch up.

"That wouldn't be breaking the vow... but I'd have to report you to the local authorities." she admitted, analyzing me strangely.  
"Are you really a Legilimens or are you just making fun of me?" she inquired, her voice full of curiosity.

I laughed, the situation was humorous. The twenty five years old detective was trotting beside me, eager to hear my answer, intrigued like a little kid discovering magic. _I'm twelve years old and I got an amazing and talented chick hanging on my words, following me around in my adventures. Who else can say the same thing?_

I knew it wasn't really the case, but it pleased me to see it like that.

"I am." I finally said. "We could go back there and scan his mind to find out if he really does know him." I offered, turning to her.

"No, no it's not a good idea, really not." she hesitated, staring at me. "He could sense it and report it to the Aurors, and I like to do my job the most cleanly possible." she concluded.

"I've read your past achievements, Selena, and I'm pretty sure you had to cross the line once or twice to complete your assignments, am I wrong?"

"None of your business." she said curtly before she turned away and crossed her arms.

"Alright, let's try the two others, but if we don't find anything, I'll come back here and use what I need to use to get my data." I was still talking to her back. "I'm not playing around, Selena, I need to find this guy, no matter what. You're free to leave if you can't stomach a small privacy invasion."

She nodded and stretched out her arm to me.

"Grab my arm, we're apparating."

The next place we visited was another bar, this time in a large muggle town at the feet of the mountain. It was huge and lively, witches and wizards were having a karaoke party in a corner, bathing the bar in a cheerful mood. The young barman welcomed us with a bright smile and indicated us the man we were looking for. Selena had found him to be one of the most street-wise information trader in the region. He was said to know everything that happened in this town and more. Him too was apparently in regular contact with Jagdish. However, the visit was fruitless again, leaving us hungry and disappointed on the sidewalk.

We agreed to take a pause to eat in a restaurant.

"Here is the waiter." I informed whilst sitting down in the tacky armchair.  
"Take me anything with red meat and a jug of fresh water."

Selena shot me an annoyed glare and complied. The waiter took notes and walked away.

"You could at least say please, I am not your servant." she complained, her Slavic accent stronger when she was mad.

"Do we have to go through that everytime? I'm hiring you, right now. You're earning money at this very second thanks to me." I shrugged and comfortably set my back against the chair.  
"You are my servant."

She sneered, not taking my taunting seriously. And took her adventurer hat off, shaking her head to let her hair fall on her shoulder. The scene was mesmerizing, I forgot to talk for a moment.

"Anyway, _Boss_, I don't think it is working." she sighed. "Like I was saying sooner, if he is listening to the streets, if he is interested in who says his name, he already know we're here looking for him. I think he doesn't want to show himself."

"So what, do we give up?" I asked. _Those muggles are so damn slow to make food._

"No, I will find him, but it will take me time, a lot of time." she affirmed determinedly.  
"He can't hide from me forever, let me tell you that. I'm not one of the best detectives ever for nothing!" she hit the table, shaking the glasses and cutlery, along with her gorgeous chest.

_I got to hit that, no matter how it ends._

"Best detectives? I didn't realize you got promoted, your resume said grade four." I grinned and took a sip of fresh water, brought by the waiter.

She harrumphed adorably and raised her hand in a dramatic pose.

"The grade means nothing, what really matters is talent and skill. You'll see, in a few years, I'll be at the top."

We spent the rest of the meal laughing and getting to know each other, as there wasn't much to discuss about the plan. We both knew it'll end up with a small Legilimency attack if the last place to visit didn't bring results.

The third place to visit was a letdown as expected, the witch in the village's central plaza was no help and almost insulted us when we asked about Jagdish, before apparating away.

It was the middle of the afternoon, I looked at Selena and nodded. She sighed knowingly and apparated us back in the first town, right in front of the sturdy bar.

"Here, come with me." I dragged her in the back alley behind the restaurant.

She pointed to a door.  
"The back door. Books, it's really not prudent to do that, you could be severing any chance you have to meet him." she whispered.

"If this doesn't work, I'll let you as much time as you need to get him." I assured, looking around. I walked to the back door and unlocked it with an _Alohomora_. The lock clicked, letting the door swing ajar. Behind it was a corridor with numerous openings on the sides, it seemed to go in a straight line and would probably reach the bar counter.

I entered the corridor, Selena on my back, wands out. We walked past the kitchen, smelling strong spices and hearing meat being chopped to pieces.

"You go to him, seduce him and bring him in that room." I whispered to Selena, pointing to some sort of empty laundry room.  
"I'll take care of the rest." I started moving into the room when I felt her slap my back.

"Seduce him? _Seduce him_? What kind of plan is that, Books? Do you think we're in some stupid children story?" she whispered angrily, slapping my back numerous times.

"Oh come on, you know it will work, just go to him, make him understand you want to - you get the point - and he'll follow you without a doubt." I explained, certain of my plan. Even if the guy knew she would ask him again about Jagdish afterwards, what kind of man would reject her?

"He is not stupid, unlike you! He knows I am with you, he'll know you're waiting to ambush him!" she hissed comically, wiggling her wand around to express how mad she was.

_Shit, she's right. Being around her make me stupider every second._

"Right, then I'm going to cast it on him directly, you just watch the corridor."

We reached the end of the corridor, sneaked behind him, Selena took her position behind me, and as I aimed for the barman's calf, "Books, stop it! " she whispered harshly, lowering my wand with her hand.

"What the -" I started, only to be interrupted.

"Shhhh..." she slapped her other hand on my mouth and stretched her neck to listen to the discussion the barman was having. As I waited here, I saw her expression soften and she let a wide grin on her lips.

A few seconds later, she dragged me in the corridor and out the edifice, without a single word.

Once outside, she released me and started talking before I could ask.

"It was him, Books, _it was him_!" she exclaimed excitedly. "The barman was telling Mr. Chanda about us, he was informing him. All we got to do is go in and grab the man." she grinned again.

"No time to lose, let's go." I ordered, already on my way around the bar.

We entered the bar again, this time by the entrance, and looked at the counter. The barman's expression betrayed him for a few seconds before he acted like his normal self, washing glasses in the sink behind him. Against the counter was Jagdish, feinting sleep like a kid, a still lit pipe creating a nice smoke cloud around him. He was dressed with brown pants and a dark blue tank top, unusual for a wizard this age. He was neither tall or small, and very average in general, except for the impressive brown beard that fell at his knees. Nobody in the whole bar looked nearly as old as him, his skin was so wrinkled it looked less flat than his beard and hair.

We approached the counter and sat, one on each side of him. From this point, it was pretty clear we had him, but I felt like he was playful enough to keep pretending to sleep. _Old people tend to be like that..._

"Good day, Mister Chanda. I had a hard time finding you." I said, motioning the barman to serve us.

"So it seems he finally found me." he articulated in a not-so-rusty English. "Go ahead and call him, I'm not moving from this seat." he finished strongly, puffing on his pipe.

"We're not here for that, Jagdish." assured Selena in a soft voice, surprising me with the gentle approach. _That won't work on such a veteran._

He opened his eyes and turned slowly to her. He took a while examining her, probably scanning more than her face.

"Who are you two chaps? You don't look like the kind of aspirant assassins I'm used to deal with."

"We have nothing to do with any kind of assassination, we want information on..." I paused, wondering if I should say that in front of Selena, who looked like she was about to soil herself if I kept it secret much longer.

"Information on the group you followed in 1902 as a scribe and archivist." I finished, disappointing Selena a bit. However, Jagdish's face suddenly dropped. His eyes were hollow.

"I will not sell such information." he muttered darkly, before puffing on his pipe once more. "You're better off not knowing, kid."

I grabbed his head and smashed it on the wooden counter without too much force. _I need him alive and able._

His pipe broke and clattered on the ground as Selena shrieked and jolted in surprise. I was now standing up, my hand on his head, and whipped out my wand with my other hand.

"You're going to give me what I want, old man!" I threatened in his ear, pointing my wand at the public in the bar, preventing them to try anything. Some of them had stood up and unsheathed their wand, but were hesitant about starting a fight.

"I don't want to hurt you, I don't want to kill you, but you've got to give me what I want." I barked in his ear. He was awfully silent.

"Books, what the god damn fuck!" Selena was standing up too and had her wand trained at me. "Release him at once, that wasn't in the deal."

"I do the deal, sweetie" I jabbed my wand toward her, hitting her with a well-earned _Expelliarmus_. She was knocked back a few feet and grabbed a table to steady herself.

"Sorry, it's not against you, but this guy is of paramount importance to me." I grabbed her wand, sticking my tongue out playfully.  
"So, will you give me what I want?" I asked to Jagdish, who was massaging his skull. He looked at me with interest for a few seconds and spoke calmly.

"I will sell it to you, follow me." he dropped off his stool. I tossed Selena's wand back to her and winked before following the elder wizard out of the bar, a hand on his shoulder to prevent apparition.

The detective joined us in the street while we were making our way through the crowd.

"What the fuck was that for? Next time I'll -" she started, genuinely pissed off.

"I couldn't afford to have you stun me and lose him." I cut her harshly.

"Why did you assault him without giving me any warning or anything?" she barked, forcing her hair inside her hat. "What was even the point of that, making baseless threats like that?"

"Baseless?" I raised an eyebrow.

"You wouldn't hurt him." she stated strongly. A few seconds passed after her statement.

"He would." smiled Jagdish.

_I would._

Jagdish led us far away from the town, in a cavity of the mountain. He had modified a cave with magic, making it inhabitable and even rather comfortable. The shabby wooden door made it look like an abandoned smuggler cache from outside, but once inside, it was a fairly big house, with a height ceiling and fake windows displaying the landscape outside of the cave.

"Impressive, those windows are no cheap charm." I was the one who broke the silence.

"Thank you, they took me quite some time to get right. " he answered with a smile and walked to an oak sideboard.

"What will you drink?"

"Nothing, thank you." I replied shortly. I wasn't here to make friends.

"Don't be so eager, young man. You very well have the time to take a tea." he poured tea in three porcelain cups.

Selena had been silent the whole time and took a seat, watching me cautiously. _She probably stays only to make sure I don't kill the old guy._

"Be it then, what is your price?" I took the cup he offered me but didn't drink.

He sat in the chair in front of Selena and sighed.

"I need you to help me kill a man." he let out before taking a long sip on the boiling hot tea. I watched him impassively. _He's dead serious._

The three of us stayed silent for a minute, considering what had been said.

"Who?" I asked with my business tone. _At least he wants to deal. _

"You don't know of my little... predicament. Do you?"

"Apart being older than steam locomotives, I don't know what you're talking about." I joked, still not trusting the tea. It could have been poisoned easily and the fact that he was drinking it meant nothing at all.

"I am an inventor, a creator!" he shouted suddenly, and stood up, dropping his cup on the floor. "I spent my life inventing and archiving everything I could think of. I discovered priceless things, I stored unbelievable secrets!" he ranted, pacing around me.  
"But making progress isn't frequent, my boy, it took me thirty years to develop only one of my dearest discoveries..." he stared into space for a while and went back to his raving.  
"Many people were interested in buying my discoveries, oh yes, even if some were labeled as dark magic in the most uncultivated countries." he laughed bitterly. A creaky and dusty laugh that sounded quit maniacal echoing in the large hall. He finished laughing and calmed down, sitting his old bones back in the armchair with difficulty.  
"But all of this is over. The fame, the money, it went away with my youth." he cast a _Reparo_ on his cup, salvaging the tea along with it.  
"And now, when I wish nothing more than a simple retirement and a quiet end of life, I'm being targeted by a greedy crime lord who wants my secrets." he finished, and took a sip.

I took a few second to think about it.

"You want me to kill that crime lord?"

"By Shiva, no! Have you gone mad?" he laughed vigorously.  
"No, no, that would be madness, I want you to kill the assassin they sent out after me." he patted his stomach like it appeased the pain caused by the laughter and continued, "He's been tracking me for five years now, I dueled him two times and am positive I can't beat him on my own, especially with my old age." he sipped on his tea.  
"Get rid of him, and you'll get everything you asked for."

My first question was the obvious one.  
"Why didn't you get help sooner?"

"It is very sad, stranger, to become an old man. All of my dearest friends died long ago, and nobody would risk their life for an old man like me. The authorities are no help in this case, they cannot defend me, and the few good-hearted people who would actually put their life on the line for me aren't strong enough to take my opponent down."

"A mercenary then?"

"I have no money, nothing to offer except a few memories and dusty archives." he smiled sadly once more and waved to the hall. "I don't even have any land."

"But then what the heck is the assassin after?" I asked incredulously.

He sighed and motioned me to sit down.  
"The Kaoru Family wanted something from me long ago. A secret of mine, something I sold to a broom company a few years after. They didn't take it well, they threatened me and tried to force me to work for them as compensation. I refused and got under the protection of their rival Family, the Natsuko Family, which had an arrangement with the aforementioned broom company." he explained, pouring a himself another cup of tea.  
"But five years ago, the Natusko Family was destroyed when its head, the witch Haruko Natsuko, got killed by her own bodyguard under the Imperius curse. It was the final nail in the coffin for the Natsuko Family.  
Since this day, the Kaorus have methodically sent killers everywhere in the world to deal with everybody who was under the protection of the Natsukos."  
He shrugged slightly. "Now they have most likely forgotten about me and don't care in the very least about my fate, but the assassin after me has developed a liking to chasing me. He enjoys trying to kill me, I'm quite confident he's become crazy. Crazy, but dangerous. He's skilled with a wand, a prerequisite for an assassin, and I've found myself unable to take care of him."  
"At first, I thought hiding wasn't so bad, and he would give up after a while, but now he's become a real nuisance." he sighed and clapped his hands together, smiling again. "So this is the agreement, you kill him, and I'll give you everything I have about this dreadful day."

I thought about it for a few moments. _I'm fairly powerful and have a plethora of battle curses and spells ready to use, but to fight a seasoned assassin? That's a whole different story than slaying mildly dangerous beasts in the Forbidden Forest. Last time I almost got trampled by a duo of zebras... Would I be able to fight an adult wizard whose job is to kill, and win?_

The idea seemed ridiculous. _But I'm a Potter, and that has to count for something._

"Just how skilled is he? What spell did he attack you with?"

Jagdish stroked his forehead, remembering his encounters with the crazy killer. "I can't say for sure, most of his spells are sent silently, but I remember him trying a _Crucio _once, and he managed a very dangerous cutting curse that beheaded a massive centenarian oak." he took a pause and added "Wand waving isn't my area of expertise, my boy, he's probably not that good."

_Crucio, heh? Hard to manage but I don't know if it was an actual valid Crucio, and to cut a tree isn't really hard, very different than cutting a magical being... I might have my chances._

Selena was watching me silently, slightly shocked that I was considering the offer.

"Very well, I will help you. We'll set up a bait, you'll start dueling him and I'll come in to overthrow him." I exposed, rather content of the plan. It was shameful, to come and kill him almost in the back when he was fighting someone else, but I couldn't hear the fair-play part of my mind who would have complained. _This part of my mind died along with my sister._

"You can't be _serious_!" snapped Selena, rising from her seat.

"Selena, you can go now. Your mission is a success, thank you." I said to the incredulous girl, reporting my attention on the old wizard now puffing on another ivory pipe.

"No way, I stay here until it's over, I can't believe you're actually agreeing to that..." she pouted, crossing her arms.

I smirked, this was going to be interesting at the very least.

"We have a lot to plan, Mr. Chanda. I'd reckon we start as soon as possible."

* * *

"Is the portkey reliable? I don't know if we can trust this weird shaman or whatever she was." I questioned vaguely, playing with a lock of Selena's dark red hair.

She was resting on me, her head on my slightly hairy chest. The aging potion had put me in an age where I had _some_ chest hair, but not really chest hair. The night had been torrid, passionate, so much we actually stayed in the hotel room the whole Sunday. Selena was more of a wild cat than I had imagined. She had shown me things I never heard about, apparently, there were numerous charms invented especially for sex.

"If half the city comes to her to get their portkeys, I think we can trust her work." she answered sarcastically, sliding her hand across my upper body.  
"How are you going to explain you've disappeared for the weekend? Hogwarts doesn't allow that, do they?" she asked curiously, raising her worn out face to me. She looked like she ran a marathon. _I probably look the exact same..._ _Totally worth it no matter how you look at it._ I grinned.

"Yeah well, I'll find something... I don't know yet." I shrugged. We stayed silent for a while.

"You could say that you found a secret room and got stuck inside." she suggested suddenly. "It happened to a student in Durmstrang once, the door opened only once per day, so he had to sleep in the room."

_That's totally retarded, a secret room with a door that opens only once a day? _I considered it for a few seconds. _Actually, it wouldn't surprise me that such a place actually does exist in Hogwarts..._

"It's perfect, thanks for the idea. You're my favorite employee." I pinched her hip, making her giggle like a schoolgirl and kissed her.

After a few more caresses and giggles, I left the bed and took a shower.

"So what do I say in the report?" I talked loudly to cover the sound of the shower. "Very professional, very creative in bed and not afraid of handling big things?" as an answer she threw me a pillow.

"The mission isn't over until you kill that guy." she said from the bed, still lying naked. She was probably planning to stay here until the landlord ask her to pay another day.

"My mission won't be over until I do a lot of things, sweetheart, but your mission was to find Jagdish and arrange a meeting with him. Mission accomplished." I walked out of the shower.

"I will be here when you do it." she declared, eyeing me dangerously like a fox spotting a fat chicken.

"I thought you were against all that? It won't be pretty you know, we're going to execute this man."

"I know, Books. I want to be here to see it. I want to see the consequences of my work." she got up and slid to me like a vampire in a bad muggle movie, her body language expressing nothing but lust.

I dodged her and walked to my clothes.

"Alright then, you know how to contact me. But I'm warning you, if you fuck our plan up, it ain't gonna be pretty for you." I threatened before grabbing the portkeyed cigar box. I smiled and mimicked a flying kiss, like Lily used to send to Zachary. "See you later, cutie." I said, blowing the imaginary kiss.

The last thing I saw before being brutally tossed back in Diagon Alley was Selena diving unceremoniously in the bed to take a nap.

* * *

The last months passed most eventlessly in Hogwarts, except for the general panic and numerous students who left in fear of the Heir of Slytherin. More attacks happened, but this time Zach wasn't the main suspect anymore, as his girlfriend Hermione got killed. _Girlfriend? I don't even know. Also, she's not dead. Yet._

All of this didn't interest me in the very least, I wasn't scared of that shithead beast. The Forest Warrior, the Monster Slayer I was. Self-proclaimed title, sure, but not without reason. Loren wasn't scared either, she was too crazy for that. She trusted me to watch her back, and a part of her probably still believed I was the Heir. _Maybe most of her probably believe that. That would explain the lack of fucks she gives about the situation._

We had gone public a few weeks after my trip to India, mostly because she was constantly dragging me in closets to snog and cuddle and I was fed up with it. People had started wondering why she was suddenly so happy and lighthearted with all the attacks and fear happening around us and soon started to rumor about her being the Heir. _Stupid as hell, but that never prevented rumors from existing._

To avoid being investigated too much, I admitted to Louise that I dated Loren. An hour later, the whole castle knew it. _Maybe I'm exaggerating, just anyone who ever cared about it._

Since then, it was nothing more than a few Occlumency lessons here and there, small trips in the forest just to keep myself in shape and a _lot_ of getting cozier with Loren.

"So what do you think about that?" She was currently sitting beside me in the large armchair in front of the fireplace. We were playing a nice game of Exploding Snap with the Scottish rules, to change a bit.

"I just don't understand why Medusa, of all people, would spend centuries buried beneath a castle and wait for some kid to open the lid. Even if she came here to find her lover in the first place." I dragged two cards from the deck and rasped the table to indicate my turn was over.  
"Also, I think that if the legend says she turns people to stone, they would actually be turned to stone. Your story of the stone being a metaphor to say they're petrified doesn't convince me." I concluded, watching intently Smith who was checking his three cards. _Probably thinks the card will explode on Rosaline. Loren will get a turn ahead of him._

She pouted. "You're meant to agree with me, what's the point of dating if you don't?" she quipped while taking the top card of the deck. Smith had called it on Rosaline and it failed, now Loren had an edge for the next turn, having more points than her direct opponent on this particular turn.

I stabbed her side with my finger, triggering a cute giggle. It was so easy to be nice and to have fun.

"The point? To snog, of course." I grinned as she leaned on me and brushed her lips on mine while the other players rolled their eyes and Louise pretended to puke.

"Medusa never existed anyway, the old mythology is nothing but stories and tales for children. I think the heir can control a basilisk or a cockatrice." suggested Lynn with a serious voice.  
"And I'd bet on the basilisk because guess what, it's the king of snakes." he reinforced his point by slapping his card on the table, gaining the upper hand on Loren.

"No way a basilisk can hide in the castle and attack random students without anybody seeing it." affirmed Smith, a few people nodded. _He got a point._

"Besides, basilisk aren't known for being the kindest, it would eat the student after attacking it." I added. More nods.

"Perhaps, but it's still the hypothesis that makes the most sense to me. A king snake for the heir of Slytherin, someone who speaks parseltongue to control it..." he trailed off, looking in the opposite direction as if he hadn't just said that.

Silence followed Lynn's statement, everybody looking worriedly at me. _He also got a point, it would make sense. But Zach? Heir of Slytherin? Get real. _

My Hufflepuff maties sure had gotten smarter during the year, I felt a bit proud about it, as if my presence triggered that.

"Maybe you're right, I don't know Zach that much better than you. If he's the heir, he hid it well." I admitted, knocking on the table to pass my turn. _Exploding snap on the second card of the deck. Rosaline has game, she won't pick it. Smith on the other hand... him or Loren._

"Still doesn't make much sense that students are only petrified. I liked my Medusa story better. At least it had romance." pouted Loren, making everybody laugh, she drew the exploding snap and jumped back in surprise as the card suddenly exploded in her hand. I laughed along with the group and spent the evening having lighthearted fun with my housemates.

_We'll see how it comes out in the end, I'd be damned if Zach is actually linked to it, somehow._ I chortled internally.

_He is a parseltongue, after all..._ _And a Potter._

* * *

Summer made the Indian jungle unbearably moist. I was sweating profusely, hiding on a large branch of the huge mahogany tree like a panther waiting to jump on its prey. _There probably are panther hiding in trees all around us._

Selena was in the same position as me, laying on another branch and swatting mosquitoes left and right. Unfortunately, none of us knew any kind of mosquito repelling charm.

Our prey wasn't present yet, only the bait. Jagdish was pacing around, near the old ruins. There was a huge statue's head laying on the damp soil next to him, on which he had put his water bottle and bag, already tired of having walked this far.

"How much time do we wait?" Selena was already fed up with the mosquitoes and the uncomfortable position.

"We wait until he comes, if you don't want to, you're free to apparate, it's now or never. We still have time to cut the ward for a few seconds." I whispered briefly, scrutinizing the jungle.

"But what if he doesn't?"

"He will, Jagdish encountered him a few days ago to make sure he's still on his track." I explained quietly. "Now shut it, we need to stay invisible."

Selena wanted to see it for some reason, she had insisted numerous time. _Maybe she want to see the guy die to quench her murdering desires?_ The explanation seemed plausible, she came from Durmstrang after all. She had insisted that she wouldn't help us kill the assassin, even if he deserved it. She came as a spectator and I couldn't stop thinking that it was a mistake to allow her. _What if she want to stop us and bring us to the Ministry? She worked with the French Ministry a few years ago..._ I shook my head. _Too late now, she's here._

Jagdish sat on a piece of ruin and rested a bit, drinking from a plastic bottle. I took my shirt off, offering more skin to the mosquitoes. The heat was worse than the insects for me, they barely stung. I peered in the distance, at the other side of the ruins, and distinguished a seven-headed horse with wings taking off and flying low above the treetops. _This incredibly huge forest is magical, I really wonder how they hide that to muggles. Do they even bother to?_

Suddenly, a black bear came out of a bush, running toward Jagdish on his rear legs, his claws open and roaring loudly. Jagdish stood up, whipped out his wand and started an intricate motion. _What is he-_ I was starting to wonder why he didn't simply blast it off, when unexpectedly, the bear stopped and dropped back on his four legs. He eyed Jagdish menacingly and turned away. Animals could sense it when they were in front of a wizard, and most of the time they were scared.

"Not very subtle, my friend!" yelled Jagdish. I straightened and readied my wand. On my left, from behind a tree appeared a wizard, walking confidently toward Jagdish with a crazy grin. He was dressed with a black leather suit, probably reinforced with defense charms and runes. His long silver hair were tied in a ponytail trailing behind him. He started to laugh, executed a couple pirouettes on his way and stopped a few yards from his target, ecstatic.

"Finally, my favorite prey is all mine! For how long have I been chasing you, old man? Three years? Five years? I frankly don't remember!" He laughed madly, his eyes gleaming with malevolence.  
"I will enjoy tearing your guts out, oh yes." He placed his right hand on his hip, his wand in the left, and pulled on a sword handle I hadn't seen at first. A long and shiny katana slid out of his belt, out of its void scabbard, until it was steadily pointed to Jagdish.  
The Japanese killer grinned even more widely.  
"I shall cut you, for having stood up against the all mighty Kaoru Family, in the name of my master Akio Kaoru!" he proclaimed loudly, visibly enjoying the moment.

"Very well." Jagdish opened the dance by shooting a conjured trident, easily dodged by his opponent who looked eager to draw blood with his sword as he was racing toward Jagdish. Jagdish hastily banished a rock to him at high speed, forcing him to dive.

I choose this moment to act, I stood up and aimed at the crazy assassin. He was far away from me but I was especially good with my aim. I sent a stunner at him, the plain old _Stupefy_, but muttering the incantation so weakly he couldn't hear it.

Just as the spell was about to connect, he spun around and blocked it with a small shield. _Damn, he's not bad, he can sense the magic._ It was to be expected from an assassin but I had to at least try.

His eyes were searching me in the landscape of wood and leaves. Jagdish continued with a couple of banished rocks and a stunner, attracting the man's attention on him.

"Got some back-up, old fool?" he barked madly, shooting a highly pressurized jet of water on Jagdish' medium shield.

I dropped down the branch and ran to him, firing a _Secaferox_, the huge deep blue cutting curse traveled fast, forcing the killer to dive on the ground and almost beheading Jagdish on the way. The sight of the advanced dark curse sobered my opponent, he was now glaring at me apprehensively.

"One in the back and one on the front? That's really dirty, old jerk!" he bellowed before sending silently a bright green light ball to me. Having no idea what it was, I repelled the slow moving attack to the side with a strong _Aspernum Maximus_ to keep my ground, and immediately followed by a short series of banishers and stunners.

He dodged my salvo of mild spells and charged to me. I wasn't fast enough to blast him away or dive efficiently, I jumped back, letting only the tip of his blade reach me and took a slash in the breast. The pain surged in the cut, burning my flesh. I lost no time and barraged him with stunners and dark perforation curses, terrified of having him and his sword so close to me.

The prey countered with a conjured rock shield and turned to Jagdish, only to dive on the side to avoid a stunner. As he fell on the ground, he caught one of my strong Serbian perforation curses in the kidney. Blood spurted heavily, flowing through his fingers as he raised another shield and moved aside. He was wincing painfully, his eyes panicked. I wanted more, dark magic was already feeding me, but I needed more.

"We'll meet again, old man, you can't hire wands to protect you for long!" he hissed behind his bared teeth, sweating heavily and taking hiccupped breaths. The curse had bored a two inch wide tunnel almost going through his body. _Might want to put a bit more power next time, to get a clean hole._

He spun around, trying to apparate away but unfortunately for him got blocked by our ward. A horrified look of realization flashed on his face before I hit him with a disarming charm, sending him crashing against a tree.

I walked to him and kicked him viciously in the wound, making him fall on the ground, still wincing and clutching the hole. I was eager to end it, my magic wanted it.

"Do you want to do it?" I asked, turning to Jagdish. He looked sadly at the man at my feet and shook his head before walking slowly to the ruins to take a seat.

"Don't be stupid, if you kill me, they'll send a killer after you too!" barked the condemned man from under me. I kicked him on the thorax, pinned him on the ground with my foot and pointed my wand to his face.

His tone changed into a fearful, pleading whine. "No! Please! Don't do it! What do you want? I can-"

"Secaferox!" I shouted, cutting his words and his neck with a single motion. The deep blue scythe cleaved a wide gash in the ground under us and his head rolled to the side as blood sprayed out of his neck, painting the jungle floor crimson and filling the fresh cut in the ground like some kind of disturbed symbolism. The dark curse nourished my being with an insane amount of joy, tossing me in a sea of bliss. All the pain of a soul dying flowed into me, converted in a wicked pleasure. I stood here, standing on the draining corpse, for a full minute until the sick delight became bearable. I moved my fingers around my wand, caressed it tenderly, staring at the lifeless eyes of the head in front of me, and felt an electric wave across my body. _I killed a man._

My thoughts cleared a bit.

_I just beat and beheaded a professional killer._ My internal Harry grinned bitterly. _And I'm making such a fuss about it... Zach killed a fucking Basilisk less than a month ago, along with a piece of Voldemort's soul and he didn't even get a scratch._ Hot fluid dripped from by breast where I had been cut, striking cherry lines on my upper body, a reminder that I was still behind the boy-who-lived.

Selena reached us, her face pale. She placed a hand on my shoulder.

"A-Are you alright?" she asked, looking aghast.

"He wasn't that crazy after all." I started, still numbed by dark magic. I was feeling sick now, the pleasure was _too _wicked.  
"Once in front of his own end, he was frighteningly sane." I muttered, still staring at the silver haired head on the ground. Selena pulled on my arm.

"Come on, what is done is done."

We walked to Jagdish, who was making tea, and sat on the rectangular stone with him. This time I accepted the tea and drank it thankfully. Our party stayed silent for some time, we sipped on our tea cups and watched the sky darken with thick ominous clouds. Rain would fall soon.

We eventually got rid of the ward, by removing the master rune we had carved on the mahogany tree, and apparated back in Jagdish's cave. I was carefully monitoring him. If he wanted to cross me and disappear without giving me any data, it would be now.

Selena insisted to heal my cut immediately, I had planned to let it go on its own since it wasn't very deep. It had turned out the blade was enchanted with dark stuff, making the wound impossible to close without a special treatment.

"And even once the wound is closed and healed, you'll probably get a permanent magical scar." scolded Selena while applying some balm on my chest.  
"I can't believe you wanted to just, I quote, _let it go on its own_!" she threw her arm in the air desperately and went back to treat it. I wasn't paying attention to her ramblings, I was watching Jagdish, who had gone in a separate room and came back with a bunch of dusty parchments.

He placed the stash of paper on a table and turned to me.

"Mr. Books, if you would kindly bring the Pensieve behind you and discard Miss Selena, I think it is time to get your payment."

* * *

**_AN: I sort of wrote all of this in a rush, but I think it ended up alright. Let me know how you feel about it._**


	8. Chapter 8

**_I do not own Harry Potter, no copyright infringement intended and I apologize deeply if it makes Rowling cry._**

* * *

**.**

**Too Young to Die.**

**.**

**Chapter 8.**

**.**

* * *

I placed the block of charcoal in the middle of the triangle and stepped back to evaluate the overall result.

The huge circle around the triangles touched all the peaks, and the triangles were just small enough to not overlap. I whipped my wand out and started to carefully carve the twenty runes on the charcoal cube, around the main rune that could be read either as _creation _or _development_ depending on the context.

That was my first ritual, I decided to start with a mix between a golem creation ritual and a peculiar host ritual I had more or less developed on my own. The result was meant to be a golem manufactured by my magic, who would obey my thoughts and use my strength to live. _At least, it should be. Not the aberration I created the other day... _I almost shivered as I remembered the thing that had nearly ripped my leg off.

Most rituals were quite easy, I knew I'd just have to follow instructions and be a bit smart to be successful. _Not unlike potions, actually._

The problem was that I'd need more than to be able to follow instructions from now on.

_"It was panic, I don't remember much of it but there was fire everywhere, the demons had been set free. I grabbed what I could before running away just in time before the Government people came and annihilated the entire place." explained Jagdish, handing me the half burnt parchment.  
"This is all the solid data I have on the ritual itself, I never thought I'd hand it to anyone." he smiled before sitting down in the chair Selena had occupied before I sent her away.  
"Everything else will be straight out of my memory, or what's left of it."_

Jagdish had obliviated himself before the authorities could question him after his trip through The Portal of Horus, the Gateway to Hell, the Entrance of the Dead Soul's Land or even the Way of the Damned. It sported numerous names but always described the same passage to the infernal area underneath -or above?- the mortal realm.

He couldn't say much about it, but I was sure it was what I needed. Soul Retrieval, the act of fetching a dead soul in the Demonic Kingdom. Few believed it possible and even less believed in the existence of such a place, but the old texts, the old rituals to summon demons or offer flesh and bones to appease their thirst were enough proof for me. _I'll go in there and bring her soul back._

It was the unavoidable step, I needed her soul. It was her memories, her magic, her personality. It _was_ her.

Her body, I could manage something. Us wizards had means to contain souls and I trusted my genius to eventually find a way to create her a body. The soul could not be created or copied, the books all agreed on this point. If I wanted it, I'd have to try and look for it where it had gone.

The hastily cast memory charm had ravaged Jagdish's mind, but some ruins of a memory had came back to him in the last decades. He managed to give me a few interesting details, barely holding the pain of wracking his mind to find anything relevant. I had even helped him with a few Legilimency pushes.

Eventually, I left with a notebook containing a small amount of important things scribbled on it, like the fact that the Portal could only be opened when the Earth, the Sun, the Moon and Saturn were aligned, which would happen in my fifth year in Hogwarts and not again before sixty years later. Among the various notes I had taken from his memory, the one who intrigued me the most was a name: Zephyros Athanasios.

He was an old Egyptian wizard who had visited Jagdish two decades ago, asking him to join him for his own adventure in the Realm of the Dead. Jagdish had promptly refused and gave him nothing, the man gave up easily when the Natsuko bodyguards asked if everything was alright.

_But that is still interesting. Twenty years ago, this guy was putting a party together to open the Portal. There had been no planet alignment since fifty years ago. If this Athanasios guy has any idea of what he's doing, he should be waiting for 1995 to come._

I had made a bit of research on him in the National Magical Library of London which acted as an information center since the International Magical Information Currents had been developed and established by the unspeakables. The helper had only waited a few seconds before a book flew to us, flipping its page by itself and showed me Zephyros Athanasios, Minister of Import/Export of Magical Items in Egypt. The book was a self-updating tome linked to the main IMIC of the library, so I didn't even have to wonder if I'd have to spend my remaining 23k galleons to hire Selena again.

I finished carving the last rune and slowly got out of my musing. _I need to understand rituals better than anybody. I need to complete the Portal of Horus and open it._

It was the reason I was experimenting with rituals, modifying them and mixing them. Nobody did that now our days, rituals were almost all illegal and not worth the trouble, most of the time you could obtain better results with charms and transfiguration, and the heavy rituals were already well established and functioning - there was no need to modify them.

I rested the tip of my auburn wand on the black rock and poured magic inside it. I started with pure magic, untempered and straight out of my being. I felt the master rune fill up and the secondary runes charging slowly. When I got to the destruction and control runes, I pushed dark intent along with the flow of magic, tainting it. It was very much like the Black Bricks of Knockturn Alley, only this time I had no indication of whether it was working or not.

I finished filling them and broke contact between my wand and the runes, producing a fizzling sound, like electricity running away in the air.

I grabbed my notebook with my left hand and stood up. _It's usually done with a tome but nobody's watching anyway._ I thought humorously.

I pointed my wand to the charcoal block and started reading the Druidic incantation I had prepared. The dead language was hard to read but rolled easily on the tongue, and I had repeated it beforehand.

I finished the chant by a vertical swish of my wand and growled the final word like a spell. The ground had begun shaking halfway in the text, but now the earth was boiling, bubbling. The charcoal block sank in the mud, attracted by the forces of magic, stretching the threads of solid earth that linked it to its anchors, five quartz rocks embedded in the peripheral circle. The earth continued boiling for a while after the charcoal had definitely been swallowed by the ground, in a strangely chaotic status quo.

A minute later, the pool of solid but moving mud whirled and a murky sphere of rock and earth grew out, slowly rising to ground level. The whirling orb of earthly matter shifted suddenly and _imploded_, crushing itself violently into a shape, four legs and a thick fur formed themselves out of earth, sharp fangs and piercing eyes appeared, and finally, with a final shockwave that blasted pebbles, twigs and stray leaves away, the mud _galvanized _itself with a shiny layer of smooth stony glass.

The wolf was suddenly released by the forces that crafted it and landed on the ground with a loud thump, absorbing the chock with its strong legs, and peered at me. It was awaiting for an command, I felt it in my heart, cohabiting with me and sharing my magic.

_Wow, it looks fucking wild, I didn't expect anything so... strong. _The specie of animal you'd get was totally uncontrollable, linked to your magic and how you put the ritual in place. The wolf in front of me radiated with malevolence and power, each one of this growling breaths felt menacing and brought a cold shiver in my back. _I hope I can actually control this thing._

I looked in its eyes and spoke out loud, not trusting my control enough to just think it.

"Hunt, bring me a non-human prey."

The wolf sprang on its legs, without losing even a tiny bit of rock or making a sound, and disappeared in a bush. While it was away, I could feel its presence in me, I could feel it listening to me and taking my might to live. I pondered on what I had created. The ritual was cheap, the hardest part being the potion I brewed and poured on the ground before tracing the geometric. _Not even a galleon,_ _and you get an awesome sidekick._ I thought slyly.

But it had a big downside; the creation used the master's magic and focus to power itself. It wasn't necessarily a good choice in battle.

_No matter, it worked! That proves that I was right in my studies. _I grinned, thinking about the fact that the host ritual was said to be efficient only with possessed beings and that I broke this common belief so easily. I was probably not the first wizard to discover that, many dark lord had mixed and invented rituals of all sorts, but it was a victory for me.

_It only took two weeks and twice as much tries to get right. _

A few minutes later, just as I was starting to feel exhaustion just by letting the wolf run wild, it came back to me. It was difficultly dragging a dead deer with its mouth. _A whole fucking deer._

I stood up and commanded it to let it go and walk to me, without speaking. It did so, and I placed my wand against its solid fur, which was actually only earth and rock, with bits of quartz here and there that gave it an eerie look. I pulled the magic from him, my own magic. I called it back and it came to me.

The lifeless wolf fell to the side as its legs collapsed in a cloud of dirt. _Exhaustion is still here though, I'm not powerful enough to keep it up for too long. _

I spared a last glance at the crumbled wolf statue at my feet and walked off, my mission achieved.

My loyal muggle scooter was now all rusty due to being hidden in a bush for most of the year. I had cast a few cleaning and repairing charm on the engine until it worked again and continued to use it.

I mounted it, started the engine and drove off the forest on a thin dirt path. I appreciated the wind in my hair, on my skin, cooling my flesh and soothing my mind. The summer had been chaotic until now.

Since my excursion in India, I had been studying dark magic and body enhancing rituals non-stop. The scar on my chest was the final argument in my self-conflict about body enhancing. Had I been faster, stronger or more resistant, this sword would have been no problem, that made no doubt.

Since I was at home and could just stay in my room all day, I had started taking my Occlumency lessons more seriously again, diving head first in the constant fucked up state. I went out every night after midnight, to train my dark magic skills and feast on the pain of innocent forest fauna. Zach was thankfully at Ron's place almost every day. I had green light. He had been the only one that seriously doubted my little story about being trapped in a secret room in Hogwarts.

Researches had been made, professors tried to find said room but with my vague description of a "suddenly appearing door", they assumed it was just another unknown magical phenomenon in Hogwarts and left it at that. Loren knew I lied but shared the lie with me happily, it was our private thing, along with me slaughtering beasts in the forest. My other housemates took my word without a doubt and the first years gasped at the possibility of being trapped by the castle.

Zach, however, didn't fully buy it, he knew me too well. I was more than happy to avoid him and his suspicious glares. Snape had tried Legilimency on me again and this time I had taken his attack directly for a second, letting his probe try to find a way into my mind as I acted innocent. _Funnily enough, if those two cooperated to find out about me, they'd probably succeed easily. When hell freezes over..._

Thinking about all of that reminded me how much Loren wanted to see me, she had owled me five times already, asking me to come to her place. I finally gave in and agreed to go on Wednesday. _Wednesday? That's today._ I thought negligently, grazing a truck by its right with a strong acceleration of my slightly modified vehicle. Then, suddenly, the thought made sense. _It's today! Damn it, I totally forgot that. _I peeked at my wristwatch and read midday. I sighed thankfully, I had all the afternoon.

I reached Godric's Hollow a few minutes later and parked the scooter unceremoniously in its bush. I climbed the stairs and headed to my room. I stopped dead in my tracks.

"Lily, what are you doing in Natasha's room?" I asked, already starting to get angry. _Calm, Harry. Should have cursed a few animals while I was there..._

Lily turned to me and smiled widely.

"We finally got a good idea to use this room efficiently." she showed the place with a wave of her arm. "This is going to be my lab now, and we'll change my old lab into a-" she continued happily.

I, on the other hand, was far from happy. I couldn't stop and reason myself in time, my wand was already moving and my mind had already thought the words _Ocunuo intus_.

The invisible curse hit her and blood covered her eyes as she screamed, grasping at her face.

_NO! Fucking hell!_

I raised my wand again and obliviated her immediately, already hearing James call to know the source of the scream.

"It's nothing! Lily just tripped!" I shouted back, hoping that would keep him at bay, while Lily stared stupidly in the void. I reached her in a few steps and countered the curse on her eyes. She blinked a dozen times.

"Harry? What is going on?" she voiced curiously as I quickly hid my wand.

"Nothing, you were just telling me about your lab and then you... tripped." I explained lamely.

"Oh, right, this room. See, I'm going to fix a few shelves here, and I'll-" she started again as I walked away.

"Sorry, I don't have much time, I must go to my girlfriend's place." I explained. She eyed me curiously for a second and went back to throwing Nat's old stuff away.

I slammed my door behind me, resting my back on it. I was seething. I was pissed at Lily for treating my sister's affairs and room like that, but even more at my lack of control.

_Is this what you call self-control? Is this how you'll master Occlumency? By snapping and cursing your mother when she touches your sister's teddy bear?_

I slapped myself mentally and walked to my bed, sitting to pet Hedwig. She wasn't happy with me since I gave her a letter to Zephyros Athanasios in Egypt. The travel had been long and without a doubt hot, even with the numerous breaks in owl refreshment stations she had probably made. The letter had been a simple letter, in which I presented myself as a door manufacturer named Horus. Anyone with two brain cells and knowledge of the Portal of Horus would take the hint. I had no idea of how to put all of this in motion yet but making contact was indisputably the first step.

After a few necessary minutes of petting Hedwig, I took a refreshing shower and headed outside again, braving the blazing summer sun. I called the Knight Bus with a wave of my wand and departed for Loren's place, who lived in Diagon Alley. The place wasn't especially busy, the heat kept the people inside their comfy always chill charmed houses. I walked toward Gringotts, Loren had told me her house was in a street just beside the magnificent bank. I saw the ice-cream seller hurrying to satisfy the clientele around his terrace, apparently the only crowded area of the whole alley.

I knocked on the wooden door at 15, Gringotts Street and forced a faint smile on my lips. I was happy to see her but I couldn't stop thinking about the loss of time it was. _Feels like breaking my promise to do my best..._

The pleasant witch I came for opened her door and smiled widely, grabbing me into a tight hug.

"I thought you'd never come!" she let out in a happy yelp as my ribs menaced to give in. "Although we're dating, you took your time to visit me..." she added in an unreadable tone.

"Yeah, I got my hands quite full at home, you know this whole basilisk story is more complicated than you think." _I'm not lying, yet._

"Really? Tell me everything! I love stories!" she squeaked excitedly, taking a step back to look at me in the eyes. I noticed only now that she wasn't especially cute. I had become her boyfriend mainly because of the Forest incident, but even before that moment I had chosen her as my future girlfriend because of the affection I had grown for her. I never really gave much thought to how she looked. And for the first time I noticed how plain and featureless she was compared to Selena or Sherry. _Or even Louise, for that matter._

Her hair was made in a lovely fashion, falling on her shoulders and framing her face nicely. Her grey eyes and thin eyebrows were pretty, as were her lips, but the overall was clearly just an average looking witch.

I pushed the thought aside, I really didn't care about her looks.

"I can't really say anything, magic vows and all..." I shrugged apologetically. "Want me to take you to Florean's for an ice-cream?"

"You can't seal my curiosity with an ice-cream, Harry." she scolded hauntingly, then she dropped an octave and adopted a sly tone, "But on the other hand, 'twould be a crime to refuse an free snack at Florean's by this weather."

The afternoon passed easily, I treated Loren a big strawberry and kumquat parfait and she filled my mind with tons of useless facts, stories and jokes she had heard or read at various places. After what we moved to her house, dodged her parents and spent a good hour kissing on her bed and muttering sweet words to each other. It felt weird to be so comfortable with a girl and whisper things in her ear when inside, I couldn't help but scold myself for losing my time. _I should be raising traps in my mind, or sharpening my silent casting skills, or even studying rituals some more..._

I finally freed my tongue out of her lips and convinced her I couldn't stay anymore around six o'clock. I had other plans for the evening, getting solid information on the Portal of Horus was the first real step I had taken in my quest, it was what I needed to motivate me. I knew I'd need to be more than I was to pull it off. I needed more strength, more magic, more _power_.

I entered Knockturn Alley once again, leaving the merry place and thoughts behind me.

* * *

I watched incredulously as letters formed themselves on the piece of paper I was about to throw in the trash_. Is it even possible to enchant a communication parchment to work over hundreds of kilometers?_

**_Zephyros Athanasios, pleased to meet you. _**

I feverously grabbed the nearest quill and dipped it in the ink tank before scribbling back an answer.

**_Mr. Horus here, I heard you were trying to open a door. I may be interested in assisting you. _**I didn't bother making coded sentences too much, the parchment itself should be secure enough.

**_Where did you hear that? _**_Of course, he'd start by fishing for info on me. _I was new at this game but had a small idea of how to play it.

**_A common friend. I'm simply offering you a partnership, Mr. Athanasios, I do not ask for anything. When the time will come, I intend to go in with you. _**I wrote without giving it too much thoughts, I was still in an awful state since the last Occlumency lesson. It had been a painful one, breaking the memory spike to order them myself in ice orbs. It was meant to render my mind harder to obliviate and more stable. For the moment, it only placed me in a terrible mood and gave me fucked up nightmares.

The answer took some time to come.**_ What do you offer?_**The dreaded question. I decided to bluff a bit._**I know the ritual. I only need the funds.**_

It was not entirely false since I had some precisions about the ritual, but still far from reality.

**_When can I meet you? _**_So he really doesn't have the ritual? Damn. I continued with my bold move. __**I will meet you in time, for now I'll only give you indications on what to plan. **__I can throw him a couple bones before I manage to actually recreate the ritual. _I knew I had to make sure to not give too much, he could be close to completing it himself and if I gave him just what he needed, he'd have no use for me.

I glanced at my "Horus" notebook, full of data I gleaned from Jagdish's wreck of a memory.

"The ritual needs to be fueled with unicorn blood."_He probably already know that, but I can still tell him so he sees I know what I'm talking about..._

"The master rune has to be carved on a magically charged and heavily conductive material, the crew had used a Sapphire of the Tomb (Regular sapphire that stayed in a magical tomb for centuries)."

Now that was interesting, most of blood and demon summoning rituals used a living material for central anchor. The fact that this one needed a powerful mineral like a Sapphire of the Tomb was hard, if not impossible to guess.

I scribbled the instruction on the enchanted paper._**The main rune must be carved on a Sapphire of the Tomb or something equally powerful. **_I knew very few things were, those rocks were worth hundreds thousands galleons a piece.

**_Will discuss with my partners and contact you shortly._**

This event had taken place in the library, a few days after the start of the term, and I decided after that to study the rituals as much as I could. _I have two years to figure it out._

The Notice-Me-Not charm was now my best friend, I refreshed it after every class to avoid classmates and most importantly Loren, who, without being clingy, wanted to spend time with me. My meetings with Hellard and intensives studies of rituals only barely left any time to practice silent casting and dark magic, I was overbooked.

My reminiscence had brought me in front of the secret passage without me noticing, I slipped discretely behind the statue, and downed my aging potion along with a pepper-up while striding through the cave. I knew the path better than the back of my hand. After traveling to Knockturn Alley at least four times per week, it was to expect.

I was looking for books. Books about ancient rituals, again and always.

My general scheme was taking a two steps shape: find her soul and put it in a new body.

I knew the soul thing had to be dealt within two years, I had to find a way to create a perfect body before it happened. I couldn't trust the soul to stay whole and not deteriorate if I kept it for a few years on the mortal realm, my tome on soul magic specified on many instances that once you touch a soul, changes occur. I wouldn't risk it.

Unfortunately, the infamous dark alley wasn't cooperating. No matter how many shady bookshops I went through, I couldn't find a way to craft a perfect body. There were _always_ downsides.

It was driving me mad, my mind was _too busy_, I couldn't take a breath without having rituals in my head, always rituals. But somehow, I was keeping the appearances up, getting average grades and attending to most of the lessons.

I cringed as my brain complained once again, sending me painful aches. I ignored its emergency calls and mounted my old broom. The flight was as fast and precise as ever, I walked out of the cellar and flooed out mechanically. My body was doing everything on its own while my mind rested. _Or at least tries to rest._

I strode through several layers of Knockturn Alley without sparing a glance behind me, I knew where I was going. _Layer seven. _

I honestly had no idea of how many layers there was, and I suspected some layers were actually the same layers, but at different places. The architecture of the Alley was incomprehensible.

I had visited layer seven only three times and wasn't sure how much of it I had seen yet. My eyes rested on a shop's window for a few seconds and I stopped.

_Those two guys were already behind me in layer six. _The realization brought a cold shiver in my spine as I observed the two shapes behind me in the reflection of the window. _Aurors._

I walked for a few feet and spotted an open clothing shop. My thoughts were now one hundred percent focused on my next move.

_The street is full of people, I can't start a fight in there, but they can't either. _I pretended to look at a dark orange cloak and peered at them. They were staying outside, hooded, talking to each other.

_I've been too reckless, I came here too often. _I started to panic. _Or maybe I didn't hide my research of Necromancer books enough? How many booksellers did I question on the topic? Too much._

_What do I have on me if they arrest me? _I patted my pockets and tried to remember. Then it hit me. _I have the god damn book. _

My necromancer tome that listed a number of body creation rituals. It was enough to get a warrant to look into my stuff, even for a pureblood family. _They won't hesitate a second, not with Necromancy..._

A took a series of deep breath and forced my rampaging mind to calm down as my body was shivering in distress. I was sweating profusely, dampening my robes and feeling dread dripping down my spine. I was thoroughly panicked.

I grabbed my wand tightly, my decision made. _It's fucking insane, I'll end up tossed in Azkaban..._

I walked out of the clothing shop with large strides and jabbed my wand at the pair of disguised Aurors, not taking in account the numerous passerby around them. I barely had time to register their surprised look as my vision was filled with a deep blue light erupting from the tip of my wand. I followed the five yards wide cutting curse with two fast perforation curses and dove to the side to dodge any incoming comeback. The cutting curse actually hit its target, along with two passerby. It _cleaved_ the first Auror in two, a tiny wizard's skull open and a witch at chest level. Blood sprayed everywhere.

The second Auror, behind a battle-level shield charm, watched with horror as his partner fell to the ground in two cleanly separated parts, spilling organs and blood on the pavement along with the innocent victims, who added their own organs and fluids to the sick puddle forming at his feet.

My two perforation curses hit his shield just as the bodies touched the floor, definitely shattering it, but my first curse had already taken quite a toll on my stamina. I was panting heavily when I raised my wand again.

The remaining Auror roared madly and sent a bunch of stunners mixed with cutters to me. Most of the people were running away now, but some stayed just far enough to avoid stray curse and observe the show.

"You fucking monster! You'll pay for that!" bellowed the man in front of me after I dodged the attack, his face seemingly trying to find a balance between a sick white and an angry red. He grabbed a chain around his neck, pulling a medallion from under his leather armor. _He's calling in for reinforcements._

I acted quickly.

"Voraxignium!" I yelled, not being efficient enough with the silent casting on this one. Three white fire balls shot out of my wand in rapid succession and raced toward him with an insane speed, more like beams of fire than actual spheres. He quickly put another battle-level shield in place and watched in dismay my first projectile _tear _through his shield and disappear in a flash of ivory fire.

Having no time to cast anything before the two others reached him, the Auror grabbed his cloak and spun inside it to protect his body. _Auror cloaks are fireproof charmed._ I grinned with morbid fascination as the two balls hit with splashes of white, one on the head and one on the torso. The fire immediately consumed his cloak, robes and leather garments. _That isn't standard fire, though._

He shrieked inhumanly and fell to the ground as the hungry alabaster fire devoured his flesh, letting his wand drop down in a foolish attempt to ease the pain with his now burning hands; I was shivering with delectation as his pain fed me pleasure.

After I had finished relishing the wicked satisfaction it gave me, he was nothing more than a corpse on fire with darkened bones poking through the charred flesh, slowly being reduced to ashes. I looked around me, most of the passerby had left long ago but a few ones were still watching from a safe distance.

I breathed heavily. _I need to get out of there. _I was already moving, running toward the nearest Black Bricks. I went through all the layers and flooed to Hogsmeade from Diagon Alley, sick and panicked, bumping into everyone and watching around frantically like an escaped convict.

I still had time to come back before Honeydukes closed.

_Must have been a rookie to think I wouldn't send a powerful dark fire after him, hell, he even heard the incantation! _I thought furiously, convincing myself that the inhuman pain he had experienced before collapsing was his, and only his own fault. _Yeah, seriously, he should have recognized it and shielded or dodged..._I walked into the almost empty candy shop and discretely sneaked into the cellar.

I made a silent agreement with myself to not even think about the two unrelated victims that got chopped in halves just because I was hasty to get rid of the Aurors. _Collateral damage, case closed._ I thought with a cold shiver.

I was in Hogwarts a moment later, back into my thirteen years old body. I strode to my dormitory, bumping in a few housemates without mercy. _I fucked up, I fucked up worse than ever._ I rummaged vehemently through my trunk and found what I was looking for, a calming potion, I downed the full phial, two times the recommended dosage for an adult wizard, and slumped on my bed. My heart rate started to decrease slowly, my blood injected cheeks drained gradually, leaving me a little less startled. A few minutes later, I was definitely calmed. My body was numb and my mind quiet. I took advantage of my somewhat wiser mind and analyzed the situation.

_I don't know why they were following me. Maybe they have nothing on me, or maybe they have a lot on me._ _If they did have something on me, I'm done for it. I'll find a squad of Aurors bursting in the common room in an hour at most. _

_Should I take the opening and run? To go where? If they find me here they'll find me anywhere. I can't run very far, anyway._

I decided to let thing happen on their own for once. I stood up and walked to the common room. _If I'm going to Azkaban tomorrow, might as well spend the evening pleasantly. _

I found Loren next to the fireplace and sat down next to her in the large armchair, kissing her in the neck playfully as she giggled.

* * *

**_Peter Pettigrew: On a Rampage Again?_**

**_The infamous Peter Pettigrew who broke out of Azkaban a month ago is the first and utmost suspect in the killing that occurred yesterday in Knockturn Alley. _**

_The story begins with Peter Pettigrew, friend of James and Lily Potter. Those of us who remember the last war know too well this heartbreaking story of the traitorous rat Peter, who sold Zachary Potter to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, spitting on the friendship of House Potter._

_For those who don't, here's a quick summary: Pettigrew gave information to the Dark Lord that led to the famous skirmish over Godric's Hollow the 31 July 1981 between Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix. No one knows to this day how exactly did You-Know-Who expect one year old Zachary Potter to be too powerful, but he went in person to murder the child._

_You know the end of the story well enough, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Janessa Kingsley and Rose Evans gave their life in an heroic attempt to protect Zachary Potter, bringing the escort of Death Eaters down with them and the Dark Lord was vanquished by the new born. James and Lily Potter came back only to find a house ravaged by the darkest magic and their friends laying dead around their son, sleeping in his crib._

_Peter Pettigrew made a run for it and was arrested by James Potter himself a few days later, but not without killing a dozen muggles with a strong excavation charm in an attempt to escape. He was sentenced to a life in Azkaban, in the lower section, where no warden walks._

_However, a month ago, he escaped from Azkaban in a fashion still unknown and under investigation, and disappeared. As you already read daily in your favorite newspaper, no traces of him as been found yet, even with James Potter himself leading the search forces._

_But yesterday, a horrifying event occurred in the depths of the murky Knockturn Alley. _

_Two Aurors, Daragh Conleth and Marcus K. Finlay had received information concerning a "dark cloaked person" ransacking bookshops in Knockturn Alley, apparently looking for Necromancy, the darkest of the Dark Arts. They informed their captain, Kingsley Shacklebolt and were ordered to stand by until more investigation could be done._

_From what is gathered at the moment, it would seem that they took on themselves the initiative and followed the man in the seventh layer of Knockturn Alley. We don't know yet how they knew it was him or if they even did, but the result is four cold bodies in the morgue of the Ministry. The seasoned Auror Marcus K. Finlay, known as "Maracas Finger" and the recruit Daragh Conleth were killed in action, and with them fell Theodore Serghei and an unknown witch, both killed without drawing their wand, apparently on the path of the first curse._

_The mysterious man would have opened fire on the Aurors without any warning and killed everybody in the area with strong dark magic. The first suspect is of course Peter Pettigrew, probably trying to bring You-Know-Who back to life and killing whoever gets in his way. The full Auror forces are now mobilized to find him, as he is now the public enemy number one in Magical Britain._

_The witnesses interrogated described a thin wizard, not especially tall or small, cloaked and hooded, and a brown wand. "He sounded like a young man" shared a witness unwilling of giving their name, confirming the theory of a disguised Pettigrew on Polyjuice._

_The Aurors are not sure of Pettigrew's involvement in the case yet but here at the Daily Prophet, it makes no doubts. _

_Of course, Knockturn Alley is mostly let to live without Aurors, so Pettigrew could still be running wild, but Potter and his task force are currently raiding the place to find him._

_If you see Pettigrew, or a dark cloaked figure that fits the description, floo the Aurors and do not engage him at any cost._

_A few witnesses stayed and watched the whole scene, interview by Rita Skeeter:_

I closed the newspaper, having already gleaned all the valuable information. I didn't need to read the witnesses report, I remembered too well what happened.

"Oh god, every year there's something new..." muttered Louise while closing her own copy of the Daily Prophet. "Hope your dad will catch him soon enough." she leaned forward, looking intently at me. "Is he really after Zachary?" she whispered, like it wasn't the most popular rumor of the year.

"They seem to say that he's trying to resurrect his master. I don't think he'd have time to complete both Necromancy and his vendetta against Zach." I massaged my skull through my hair, the headache was only worsening, and the night had been tormenting.

"Couldn't he do both?" asked Smith, pointing his pumpkin juice glass to me interrogatingly. _The fuck do I know? Why do all of them count on me to give explanations, for Merlin's sake!_

"Necromancy would take all the time and resources he would need to break in Hogwarts to kill my brother." I forced myself to answer like good Harry would do. _Good Harry. Heh. Isn't this guy dead?_

"You mean _inside_ the castle? Fat chance of seeing that happening, with Dumbledore on the look-out." added Howell, biting casually in a sausage.

"The place is huge, there's no way Dumbledore can see everything that happen, do I need to remind you guys about the friggin' giant basilisk of last year? I'm honestly not confident about this story - I hope they catch him soon." confided Nolwenn, obviously uneasy about the idea of a killer in the castle. _Who wouldn't be? _I chuckled darkly. _And to know they're all discussing it with said murderer._

_Because I am. A murderer. No more nice little Harry learning magic and making little friends. I'm a killer. I slaughtered four innocent people. _The thought was sickening, revolting. I forcedly swallowed my dark thoughts and focused on the conversation. _I knew it came with the package. I need to go on, I reached the point of no return. Now there is only one path ahead of me, and I had planned to walk it either way._

The following weeks were the most plain weeks ever since Natasha died. I only went in the forest a couple times to practice, and spent all of my days hanging around with Loren and studying rituals during lessons. I hardly kept my grades acceptable but that was the least of my worries. A week after the incident in Knockturn Alley, the Daily Prophet published an article giving the details of the recent discovering in the investigation. They had followed my tracks until Hogsmeade and had no further trail to follow. It wasn't likely to actually track down a wizard anyway, since they usually apparated away without a trace. However, I became more and more paranoiac over the weeks, fearing that they would eventually follow my tracks in Honeydukes and in Hogwarts.

Loren felt my anxiousness and was worried, I snapped a couple of time at her when she asked what kind of magic I had casted in the forest - probably noticing only now how powerful those spells were - or why I didn't disappear as much as I used to. It had became our way to roll, our way to be together. I'd just disappear and reappear a few hours later, and she wouldn't ask anything.

Realizing I was losing her with my shitty mood and constant stress, I did the only thing I could think of to make her forget without obliviating her. I led her in a quiet corner of my almost empty dormitory and explored her still growing body under her robes. It worked flawlessly, she was soon eager to be explored further and more in love than ever.

I managed to not become insane and too keep researching Necromancy in secret until winter came, along with a satisfying break that would send everyone back home and open the doors of freedom to me. I was aching to try some rituals out.

* * *

I stepped back to appraise the groggy deer and enervated it with a flick of my wand. Its eyes jerked open and he spotted me after half a second of sending furious glances around it. I raised my wand to it in a menacing fashion.

It got scared and turned around leaping rapidly over a fallen tree and scampered away, its legs unusually strong and springy. It didn't immediately adapt to the change and hit a tree with its head, positively knocking itself out.

I let out a hearty laugh at the fallen animal, but the laugh rapidly became a victory cry. It worked. And I knew it would work even better with the "human" version.

_All I need is a Guinea pig. Or rather, a Guinea wizard. Wizard pig? Whatever you call that, I need something human and magical to test at least one ritual. From here I'll know how to adapt them if it goes wrong._

And I already knew which wizard - or rather witch I would use. It was logical, really, looping the loop. I walked back to the castle, strolling at the outskirts of Hogwarts territory, behind the wooden hut of the huge gatekeeper and grinning dumbly. So far the break was going very well. I had celebrated the coming of winter by rampaging in the forest a bit and slew a few things, definitely diving in a sea of bliss and constant enjoyment. _Dark magic is really incredible. _

My Occlumency lessons were reaching their end, that on its own motivated me to double my efforts. My fortress looked amazingly strong by now, a huge castle of ice, hundreds of feet high and covering the whole planet, drifting endlessly in the metaphorical universe. The doors were thick and I had recently mounted spikes on it, representing my will of hurting anyone who would crash in there instead of going the subtle way. After all, all of it was nothing but a representation of my mind, by my mind. It was only how my mind pictured itself. Hellard assured me that it would work, and so, I had laid traps everywhere; most of them were just razor-sharp spikes.

Almost all of my memories were ordered in ice spheres, placed along a stretching hallway, following the torches and the black fur carpet. _Over the top? Maybe. Cool? Definitely._ I had answered when Hellard had mocked my design choices.

I reached the great hall and took a seat. It was 11am and most of the remaining students stayed in the great hall to study or discuss while nibbling snacks. I looked over the Gryffindor table and spotted my favorite Guinea pig.

_Hello, Lavender. I know it didn't work out very well last time, that's why I want to make up for it. Give me another chance._ I snickered evilly, feeling like a bad comic villain planning to kidnap the princess.

But I didn't plan to do anything evil to her, on the contrary, she would probably thank me. _If she survives, that is._

I realized very well my empathy level was at an all-time low, but I frankly didn't care. _I'm already a murderer and soon I'll be a Necromancer. I'm the worst kind of person on this planet anyway._ With this reasoning, dark magic constantly tingling my senses and occasional shots of homemade pepper up to ease my exhaustion and headache, I successfully erased all traces of worry in my being and was drifting unconcerned on a cloud of bliss and blur, seeing only my objective in the distance.

Not quite sane but yet not insane. I liked to call myself unsane. _Beyond sanity, that's for sure. No sane person would do half the shit I do._ _And if they did, they wouldn't be sane any longer._

I had casted really dangerous magic in the forest, the Demonic Torrent for one. A jet of sentient water whose only purpose seemed to be drowning or tearing apart its caster. I had wrestled with the demonic liquid, disregarding the gravity of the situation, a smile on my lips. I knew it was crazy, but I couldn't care. I would need it. I wasn't sure why, but I knew I'd need it. _Those guys with Jagdish didn't die of playing with their willies too much... If I really intend to go in there, I must become better. A lot better._

I followed lavender when she stood up and walked out, probably to visit the toilets or something equally unimportant. There were a lot of paintings on the walls, there was no way I could take her here. _Not without a little trick._

I waved my wand above my head in a motion that probably looked stupid and felt the cold chill of the disillusionment charm douse me from head to toe. I wasn't totally invisible, but enough to deceive the paintings.

I slid behind her inside the toilets, wiggling my arms around like if I was a ghost in a silly story with the only goal of amusing myself. She was about to open a booth when I spoke aloud.

"Oooooh I am the ghost of the first floor toilets!" I was having lots of fun.

I whipped my wand out in a theatrical sway and pointed it to her just as she stopped, efficiently sending a silent _Stupefy_ at her back. She collapsed, this time in my arms, and I laid her on the floor carefully. Now was the most dangerous part. I rolled up my sleeves and started an intricate wand movement. It was crucial to not fuck this one up.

The wand motion took me half a minute to complete, and Lavender started to shrink. While not as dangerous as human transfiguration, changing the size of a human's body was still very risky. She shrank more and more, until she was no larger than my fist. A minuscule Lavender now rested on the floor at my feet. I picked her up and put her in my pocket unceremoniously, still disillusioned.

_Looks like my shopping is over, I got all I wanted._ I grinned, satisfied with myself, and exited the toilet with Lavender in my robes. _That sounds like I'm doing something dirty with her, "Lavender in my robes"._

I walked all the way back to the Forest, and reached my favorite ritual training spot. Twenty minutes from the first trees on foot, a nice snowy grass on the floor, a pleasant opening in the trees above my head, and most of the creatures in the area knew better than to fuck with me at this point.

I took Lavender out of my pocket, placed her in the middle of the large circle and un-shrunk her with a flick of my wand. It was way easier to remove the transformation than to apply it. I hastily started preparing the field for the ritual, tracing a couple more triangles for more positive magic income in her body and placing all the imbued rocks on the peripheral circle. I had imbued those rocks in a magical water spring near the center of the forest, in the mountain. I didn't like going this far, I was pretty sure there were Werewolves, Giants and maybe even a Vampire Manor in there. Not to mention all the weird creatures I had encountered on my way to the magical spring. The forest felt wrong in that part, it was dangerous.

"Now for the main part of this ritual, darling." I started out loud, as if she could hear me. "I'm currently carving the runes on a rhinoceros skin, because you see, this is derived from an ancient African shaman ritual, where the lucky target would get a rhinoceros skin." I continued learnedly, walking toward her still body while I skillfully carved the runes on the grey hide. I jabbed my wand toward a twig, transfiguring it into a crude knife.

I grabbed it and cut her skin on the arm. The cut was clean, fresh blood dripped slowly from it. I touched the blood with my index and draw the rune of acceptation on her forehead with it._ That'll do the trick._

I walked back a few steps and placed the now complete main item on the floor, linking it to the geometrics with a few Elven Strings. They were called like that, but they were just highly conductive twines that grew on a tree called the Elven Willow.

"If this works as I think it will, it proves my theory on body enhancing rituals." I concluded happily to the still not listening Lavender. Despite a good number of books on the matter, it was still very vague to me. There was no specific instruction for rituals, it was mostly things to know and to put together.  
"Shall we begin?" I grinned widely and rose my wand high in the air. _I guess we shall._

I brought my wand down in a violent slashing motion, sending a burst of raw magic onto the square of grey skin. It flared lightly for a moment, the carved runes glowing a colour that wasn't one, and it began.

I stepped back to avoid disturbing the ritual and watched in awe. It was working. The circle around Lavender suddenly illuminated itself, producing a huge grey light cylinder. I squinted, the light was too bright to look at directly, and after a few minutes, it went off. Lavender must have been lifted in the air because she dropped to the ground in a flat thump.

I ran to her and crouched, dousing her with the standard diagnostic charms. She was weak, very weak. I had hoped a Gryffindor would be naturally powerful enough to survive it and was right. She had made it, but barely. _She'll need to eat a lot after that._

I still had the transfigured knife from earlier. I brought my eyes closer and slowly opened a new gash on her arm.

The skin was more resistant, it was obvious. It was still soft and thin like a thirteen years old girl skin, but I had to force to finally get the blade to penetrate her flesh and draw a line of crimson fluid. I stood up, prouder than necessary. It was at least five times tougher that before, and I knew what rune to modify to increase that number.

"It is a success, darling. You almost passed away there but I have no doubt I'll do better." I grinned and rose my head to the sky. Black clouds were gathering, it was going to snow. _Let's get back in the castle. Tomorrow I'll be another man. An enhanced man._ I chortled lightly and mended Lavender's wounds before shrinking her again.

_I'm not so bad after all, that may save her life one day._

* * *

I puked a fourth time, this time only spitting bile and saliva, and panted heavily. I caught my breath after five minutes and cleaned my mouth with a simple though and a wand motion.

After the skin and flesh toughening and the vision widening rituals, I had felt sick and got disoriented badly. The skin toughening was the easiest one, it didn't felt different at all, I had to cut myself to confirm the success of the tenfold skin toughening. The wider vision on the other hand was impossible to miss, I felt like I was an animal more than a human, able of seeing almost at 200°, and had to focus to master my new skill. After a few tries I positively understood how to trigger the change in my pupils.

But the strengthening ritual was on another level. My whole body tried to reject the alteration. I downed one of the ten phials I had brought in case this happened, reducing the amount of remaining phials to four.

I swallowed the thick liquid and quickly downed another calming potion just after. I had known the body would reject it, it was common and nothing to be alarmed of. Eventually it would stop rejecting and start to live with it, it was done and couldn't be reversed anyway.

_The fact that it's fueled by human blood and animal sacrifice probably has something to do with it too..._ I knew dark magic was different by now, I knew why and how it was _wrong_ and how the body reacted to it.

_I probably know it better than any of our DADA professors..._

I inhaled deeply and slumped on the ground, back against the tree I had been holding on. _At least I know it worked._ I though darkly, before standing up unsteadily to test it anyway.

I punched the tree with all the might I could muster in my terrible state, feeling my magic adding up to my strength. My fist connected with the tree at high speed and cracked the large trunk, sending splinters left and right. It had happened so fast all I could see was my fist resting in the center of a wide impact that covered half of the trunk.

_If that Japanese assassin tried his little stunt with the sword now he'd be in for a nasty surprise. A pity he's already dead._

The strengthening ritual allowed one to fuel his muscles with magic, boosting his strength and consequently speed insanely. It was one of the really dangerous ones, as it messed with the whole structure of one's body, and a obligatory one to even dream about wearing a Mage Knight plate armor. It was the one I had been the most reluctant to undergo. _But hell, I'm a god damn Potter! To hell with danger and whatnot, I can take it._

I had knew I could, the Potters weren't labeled powerful at birth for nothing.

_Enough rituals for today... Enough for the week actually. Just that last reaction time one, perhaps..._ I thought as I drifted in the realm of dreams and nightmare, laying in the snow covered grass of the Forbidden Forest.

I slept for five hours in the cold, my body drained out of energy. Cold invaded my being and tainted my dreams, my nightmares, until my eyes jerked open, a frost sweat in my back. I looked at my fingers, they were blue. I reached my face only to find it frozen in a pained expression.

_I gotta move, make blood circulate._ I stood up, an horrible pain biting my frozen flesh at each movement and started running. I ran through the forest, going faster and faster. My enhanced body propelled itself faster than I could react and at some point, I was too fast, I jumped too far, and fell to the ground, breaking numerous wooden things underneath the snow along with my wrist before finally crashing against a large tree.

_I can't focus magic on my body constantly, I got to strengthen my bones too._ I mentally added this to my list of rituals to carry out and dragged myself on a flat rock.

I sat and started to mend my wrist, but something wasn't right. My magic was weird.

It felt _darker_, more violent. _More chaotic._

I gathered it in my hands to get a better feeling and confirmed my suspicions. It had changed. _No, it has evolved. _

It was more aggressive, more keen to answer me but also more willing to take control over me. Was that even possible? I didn't know, at this point I was raving to myself about things I could feel but not comprehend. _Or is feeling it enough to understand it? Is there anything to understand? This is my magic, it evolves with me. And I evolved._

My faithful wand, however, didn't evolve. It was still the good ol' nine inches of cherry stuffed with dragon heartstring. It had always been some kind of bitch, but this time, it really didn't want to cooperate.

I jabbed it toward a tree, forcing a _Secaferox _through it. It worked, barely. Not really. The cutting curse came out but only cut five inch or so where it should have cleaved the tree in its entirety, leaving me bitter and disappointed.

_The wand chooses the wearer, right? I guess I really am a new man today. And that would mean a new wand._ I sighed, quite sad of having to do that, and worked on my broken wrist again.

I spent the remaining holidays resting, mainly, and enhanced my being some more. Reaction time decreasing ritual, Steel bones ritual, Blood replenishment ritual and a Regeneration ritual. Those were mostly very dark, requiring at least a half a gallon of "forcedly taken blood" to draw the geometrics and a few sacrifices to give "life power" to the gods - or demon - I was making requests to.

My housemates were oblivious of me slipping blood replenishing potion in their drinks and sneaking on them at night to steal some of their precious liquid. _It's forcedly taken if you steal it, right?_

It was seriously fucked up but I couldn't deny the cheapness. With a few legal items obtained by standard owl delivery services, a few liters of blood and a good knowledge of the dark arts, you could go really far. _All the best things in this world are cheap said one day a wise man..._

But they were as perilous as they were dark. I knew they were _very _dangerous, but not to what extent. Something about "either death or a reduced lifespan".

My mind was too blurred to stop on such details anyway. I knew where I was going and I knew I would survive.

_I'm Harry fucking Potter._

A simple motto, really, but an effective one.

* * *

**_AN: So, here we go, Harry's starting to do weird crap left and right. I'm trying to make him a tad little bit crazy, I'd like to know if it feels like this or not really. _**

**_I'd like also to thank you all for reading and commenting._**


	9. Chapter 9

**_Many people would make better things than I with the rights to Harry Potter. Too bad for them, Harry Potter belongs to Rowling._**

* * *

**.**

**Too Young to Die.**

**.**

**Chapter 9.**

**.**

* * *

I slipped my fingers under the fabric of her silk panties and grasped her left cheek savagely. Her soft moan was followed by a passionate kiss as she pressed her flat chest against mine.

I massaged her flower delicately underneath the three layers of clothes, wetting my fingers with her sweet excitement, and licked her in the neck like she loved me to do. The game continued for some time, she rode my fingers, grinding on my arm and biting my lips as I held her by the hair with my other hand.

Loren and me didn't had sex yet, we weren't ready. _Yeah, alright, she isn't._

But I had found that she was very much inclined to forget things when she was aroused, and so, I played with her. I toyed with her small body, and she was all for it.

We had been doing this for some time now, since the Pettigrew rampage. Aurors, probably out of options, admitted in the last development published in the Daily Prophet that Pettigrew was most likely linked to the attack.

She groaned in my ears and slid her hand down my stomach, reaching my own underpants. It was all good. It worked as a way to keep her in the dark and happy, and at the same time it felt really good.

I had positively fallen for Loren, she was so sweet and so pleasant to be with. _And damn, she knows how to have fun._ The downside was that it made me feel like an asshole to lie and cheat her, unlike any other housemate. _At least I kept my promise of not obliviating her._

"You feel ... different." she mouthed hoarsely after a few moments of rubbing and kissing me, still panting and overheated. I questioned her with an interrogative glance, tingling her magic button a bit more.

She sighed delightfully and hardened her grasp on me. "I'm serious, you're... more... I don't know." she whispered. "Sturdier... darker." she concluded in a mutter, looking at me intently.

_She feels the change in me? Not that surprising I guess, even my wand doesn't want my magic anymore._ I couldn't see any difference when I had studied my body in a mirror after the last ritual I had undergone.

"It's natural to grow and change at our age..." I explained vaguely, slithering my coated fingers up her body and leaving a line of the glossy liquid on her smooth skin until I reached the top. She wasn't usually able to keep a conversation steady when I did things like that. I popped the buttons of her shirt with the back of my hand, revealing her flat chest and poking nipples, and placed my still dripping fingers on her lips. She tried to resist for a moment but it was a fool's attempt. I pushed my two fingers through her lip s and she bit them softly with a deep moan. _Is that normal for a young witch? No way, I just found the wildest cat._

My successful dodge of the subject didn't last long, when we had stopped playing and cast the proper_ Evanesco _at the right places, she laid onto me, her head on my shoulder and started again.

"Don't you think I forgot because of that." she scolded with a mild smile. "You've changed Harry, and that has nothing to do with puberty. What happened?"

"Nothing happened, it's just my magic... maturing, I guess."

She looked at me suspiciously, pouting.

"Don't want to say, eh? Well at the very least try to get better." she stood up and straightened her robes. "I liked the other Harry better, you feel... sort of dangerous, now." She shrugged and laid a kiss on my lips after I picked myself up. "I'll always be by your side, anyway." she took my hand and pulled me out of the unused classroom. I looked at her, wondering how it came to that.

_She was always protective of me, since the very first week. She always sided with me, no matter how fucked up I acted. I think she really loves me._

_And do I love her? I think I do._ _What is love, anyway? _

She started bombarding me with questions on potions ingredients as we walked to the dungeons because, apparently, a big test had been scheduled for the next lesson.

The lessons went like all lessons with Snape went. He scolded everybody for being awful, ignoring the actual average level of the class, and tried to create eye contact with me, probably to confirm his doubts with a small probe of Legilimency. I expressly refused to look at him in the eye and spent the rest of the lesson ticking boxes on the test sheet and whispering correct answers to Loren, who was definitely terrible at remembering anything.

After Potions was the first quidditch match of the new year, Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff. Our group of Huffies split up at the locker room, finally getting me rid of Louise and Rosaline who had been particularly annoying lately. Since I had officially started dating Loren, Louise had stopped annoying me for a while. _That was good times... _

But recently, she had came back in full force, openly flirting with me and putting her assets forward; she was prettier than Loren and she knew it. Sadly, she had taken my rejection badly and changed tactics. Instead of trying to seduce me with her pretty eyes, plump lips and bigger-than-the-concurrence bosom, she now tried to break my relationship with Loren, at any cost. Or at least it's what I guessed from the conspiratorial looks and occasional harassment from her group of friends. It was a true self-control exercise to not curse them all to hell.

The starting whistle echoed in the pitch and I took off, forcing myself to take better care of my broom than usually. The trustworthy Cleansweep Three was old and half broken. Cracks were visible across the whole body, it was chipped and splintered in many part, a third of the twigs were out of usage, broken, burnt or just unable to catalyze any magic anymore. I had been harsh on the broom, true, but I liked to think that a broom would prefer being used at its maximum capacity and die quickly than being underused and end up taking the dust in a closet.

Wind rushed in my ears as I flew forward, following the quaffle with my eyes. _They're slow. They're so god damn slow._

I had always found them somewhat slow compared to me, but now it seemed worse. I was now used to my decreased reaction time and overall enhanced speed and strength. I had learned how to dissimulate it everyday. But once in the game, it was different. I could use it.

I dropped the leash. I let myself use my body fully. My vision widened critically, offering me a view of almost all the pitch, my heartbeat accelerated, my nerves sharpened. I flew around a bit, covering Howell and the quaffle. A bludger came from behind, I spotted it with the smallest move of my head and grabbed Howell by the robe, pulling him to me. The bludger tried to correct its course but only grazed Howell's robes.

_Could have swatted it aside too, but now that wouldn't be very smart_. I grinned, it was great to exploit my newly obtained abilities but I was sober enough to not overdo it. The match was progressing slowly, I scored a few points, spotted the snitch at two occasion and avoided falling stupidly. It was hard to maintain my body on the weak broom, my strength and speed were too much, I wanted to leap off my broom everytime the quaffle flew in my direction.

After fifty points for us and almost a hundred for Gryffindor, I got my hand on the quaffle in the Gryffindor side. My team mates were on the other side, I had no cover and three chasers behind me. I pushed my withered broom faster, luring them toward the wooden tower of the commentator, dodging a bludger at the last second with a nasty jolt that made the broom creak painfully. I ignored the protesting wood and continued accelerating. They were closing in, all with brooms more than twice as fast as mine. If they followed me in my loop, they'd be able to take the quaffle. _If I want to let it go, that is._ The rebel thought was baseless; I knew I'd let it go to preserve appearances.

Just a few yards from the wooden tower, they tried to take a shortcut and started a larger loop than the one I was going for. I smirked. _Now they have a larger window to catch me, but I have a larger one to escape too._

I pulled on the broom as hard as I could to start my loop, but this time, the broom didn't creak. It was broken at the handle, its tip now in my hand. I had pulled on the wood too hard, too suddenly, and _tore_ it in two pieces, despite the strengthening enchantments. As I processed this, staring dumbly at the useless stick in my hand, I was rapidly approaching the commentator's tower. I heard him yell madly in the microphone along with the crowd, but the wind in my ears mashed the words in a deafening whistling. I hit the wooden planks at full speed, protecting my head with my right arm, and smashed through it. My body was hurled against a massive wooden beam, it broke in half as I hit another, this time only cracking it. I dropped to the floor, my dazed mind awakening slowly from the impact, and hit another right in the stomach, cutting my breath short. I fell some more, taking more speed as the ground quickly grew closer, and finally smashed a last wooden beam before plummeting on the ground with a violent thump.

I difficultly inhaled a stifled lungful of air through my barred teeth. A rumbling noise started from above me, the whole tower creaked alarmingly, small pieces of wood raining around me as the planks shook precariously.

I stood up to evacuate the place, my head still dizzy and my lungs still gasping for air, when the tower collapsed. Tons of wood started to drop around me, I reached the facade and _punched _it.

Wood pieces and splinters exploded away from me, tearing a large hole in the thick planks, I stepped out and walked ten steps before sitting on the pitch, taking hiccups of air.

The tower crumbled loudly, staff members were running left and right, pushing students back as the commentator and the few people on the tower with him got rescued by broom riders.

I was alright, not a single cut or splinter under my skin, not a single broken bone, not a single dislocated articulation or torn muscle. After a few deep breath, I was as fresh as ten minutes ago, albeit a bit sore at some places.

My team mates spotted me and flew to me, dismounting rapidly once on the ground. I was standing on my feet, facing the terrible mess I had created.

"By Merlin's beard, Harry, lay down!" Diggory was panicked, he reached me with a terrified face and calmed down a bit when he saw I was unscathed.

"I got real lucky that time." I said to him, to immediately appease the possible suspicions. "How many yards did I fall down? Half a hundred?"

He nodded gravely. "How did you get here in one piece?"

"A lot of wood in there, felt like falling down stairs."  
He watched me strangely and turned to the huge heap of wood in front of us as the rest of the team came to touch me and check if I was alright. Pamela hugged me brutally, to make sure I had a few broken bone in the end and Priscillia the beater gazed at me in awe, her eyes all watery. The rest of the team, being guys, was less expressive and simply patted me on the back, mouthing something about being happy that I was alright.

I was suddenly hit by a Loren rocket at full speed and stumbled a few steps back. She was hugging me tighter than Pamela the lusty seventh year, suffocating me with hair.

"It was so scary! I thought you were dead for sure!" she sobbed in my shoulder. I patted her on the back, not sure how to act.

"I'm okay, sweetheart. It takes more than that to hurt a Potter." I quipped in her hair, smelling her distinct perfume that I had learned to love. Something that I couldn't describe but made me feel better than a Pepper-Up potion, something I could only define as Loren.

She sobbed once or twice and released me to wipe her tears.

"Don't be sad, I'm sure you'll find a way to get rid of me one of these days." I grinned, kissing her as she rolled her eyes at the joke. I saw madam Pomfrey appear behind her, running to us with her wand out. _Can't let her examine me, what if she finds something wrong with my body?  
_"Let's get out of there." I whispered in her ear and grabbed her by the hand, dragging her with me as I strode to the locker room. Zachary landed on my path and dismounted his broom, watching me worriedly.

"You okay, Harry?" He asked, surprised. I continued striding, still leading Loren and nodded quickly. "I'm alright, Zach, good game, by the way."

I let the astonished Boy-Who-Lived stand with his broom in hand and opened the locker room, seeing Pomfrey hurrying after me with my widened sight. Loren didn't ask any question, she let me lead her in the castle silently. Eventually, we were alone in the eighth floor's bathroom of the east tower. I liked this one because there were shower booths and it was always empty.

"So, why did you bring me there?" she broke the silence as I was taking a well earned rest on a conjured chair. "And since when are you so good at conjuration?"

"Conjuration isn't that hard, if you can do a rose it's pretty easy to do a chair." I smiled and conjured another chair for her.

"I still can't do a proper rose, though." she muttered, taking a seat. "So why here? Do you want to..." she lowered her tone and smirked impiously, "...play a bit?" she concluded, biting her index.

The only reason I had brought her here was because I needed to get away from Pomfrey and to take a shower. _But now that we're here, it seems only natural to play a bit..._

"Let me mend your injuries first, I'm sure you're cut all over the place." she took my robes off and I helped her unbuttoning my ripped shirt. I noticed only now how ripped my clothes were, my skin would have been shredded if I wasn't reinforced by the power instilled in my being by the numerous rituals.

She slid her hands across my naked torso and back, finding no recent cuts.

"Amazing..." she kissed me on the shoulder blade. "You have nothing... not a scratch..." her hand stopped on my breast scar. The scar dealt by the cursed blade had healed long ago, but left a thin line of whitened tissue to remind me of my first kill.

"A magical scar? How did you get that?" she muttered. It wasn't _that_ unlikely to have magical scar at thirteen, was it? _Hell, Zach have one!_

"I was a kid, just an enchanted kitchen knife." I replied casually.

"You lie." she stated calmly, turning me to her, and touched my necklaces with the tip or her fingers.

"What are those? A girl necklace and an iron phial?" she inquired, narrowing her eyes dangerously. "Who gave you that?"

"If I tell you my sister, you're going to say I lie again. What's the point of asking if you don't believe the answers?"

She analyzed me for a moment and decided I wasn't lying. _Is she some kind of incredible natural Legilimens or what?_

We spent the rest of the evening in the bathroom, I depicted to her my fall within the tower and exaggerated the number of wooden beams that slowed me down to make it look like "a fall down the stairs" as I had lied to Cedric. She seemed to buy it but I wondered if she really did or if she pretended to. _She reads me better than anybody else, and she felt the change in my flesh. She's not stupid._

* * *

I pushed the door and entered the dusty old shop. I walked to the counter and hit the small bell.

An old man appeared from behind a shelve, out of the shadow and laid his eyes on me.

"A wand, please." There was nothing else to buy but I felt necessary to break the silence. Ollivander looked at me gravely and nodded slowly.

"What happened to your old wand?"

"It doesn't... cooperate anymore."

"Follow me." He beckoned me and walked in a second room. The second room was as dark and dusty as the first, but there were no shelves. Wand boxes were stored in a huge mess of stacks and heaps.

He took a red box and made me try the wand from inside it, not doing the usual description like I remembered. _Maybe he does that only to kids._

The long black wand didn't react badly, the yellow stars I produced with it were even quite good. Ollivander didn't agree, though, he snatched the wand out of my hand and put it back in the box as another box came flying to me.

The process wasn't as long and tedious as when I was eleven. After a few dozen unsuccessful tries, he finally handed me the Holy Grail.

The wand was white, no longer than my first, and produced a furious wave of pure magic as I wiggled it mindlessly. The wave took the form of a light blue halo around me and vanished in a deep buzz through my body.

I felt the wand answering to me. Ollivander nodded knowingly and spoke for the first time since we entered the mysterious room, his voice sugary but emotionless.

"Nine inches, elven silver birch and hydra heartstring. Very powerful. Probably as dark as you are."

I looked at him, waiting for him to exclaim "Hey, I was joking" at some point. It didn't come.

"Crafted in another country, in another time. Two hundred galleons." he concluded on the same monotonous tone.

_Merlin's guts! Two hundred?_ I eyed him skeptically.

"You won't find better, the thing is a relic of the old times." he stated peacefully, walking back to the counter. _I could curse the shit out of him and run with the wand, but is that worth it? I can afford two hundreds galleons.  
_"Indeed, Mr. Potter." I jumped back. He knew who I was even with the aging potion, and he had just read my mind.  
"Your Occlumency is strong, but I am beyond Mastership in the subject, Mr. Potter. Do not fear, I know not of your secrets and I won't tell a soul about your presence here."

"Why did you feel it important to call me out then?" I was weary, this guy seemed like he was beyond Mastership in a lot of subjects.

"Because I'd hate to have to fight you, and possibly damage the precious wand you have in your grasp." he pointed to the birch wand I was aiming at him with.

_He knows only of my name. What is the risk of that? I can't imagine starting a fight here and now, he could be way more powerful than I think._

I sheathed the wand and took my Wallet-On-Demand, whispering "two hundred galleons". The wallet vomited a piece of paper, I handed it to Ollivander, who slid it in his cash box. The box flared green and the number 200 hovered in a green smoke on top of it.

"Stay silent about me if you value your life, old man." I said softly, trying to sound confident and intimidating.

We bowed respectfully at each other and I left the shop, uneasy. _I got a bad feeling about that._

Maybe the Dementors floating in Diagon Alley's streets were partially responsible for my uneasiness too. The Ministry had placed a few of them in all the big magical towns since Pettigrew's massacre. _Well, my massacre, let's be honest here._

The Auror count had doubled, because they now had to watch the Dementors and make sure they wouldn't kiss anybody.

I walked carefully, if I got caught and questioned by Aurors, I hadn't much of a story to give them.

I was already walking on eggs at Hogwarts, the situation was tense. I didn't think Loren believed me. She trusted me but she didn't believe me. She knew I was lying, she felt my body being changed, she wondered about what the fuck I was doing when I disappeared like today. Any other girl would have trashed me long ago, but not Loren. Every doubt vanished when we could find a free hour and an empty classroom. It was so much more than mindless snogging between us. _Love, perhaps._ _What do I know?_

The rest of my housemates took the not-explanation of the crash mildly, some ignoring it immediately, arguing that I was Potter after all, and some watching me skeptically. My head of House professor Sprout insisted that I needed to see Pomfrey but I assured her I was fine and barely dodged it. The story wasn't forgotten yet, even two months after. I hoped Zachary would hurry up and get into some crazy shit again so it would definitely be tossed in the archives.

Thankfully, I wasn't doing anything illegal today, I only came for the wand and to take delivery of a letter that wouldn't pass through the wards of Hogwarts.

A portkey. I was being owled a portkey by an associate of Zephyros. The guy was apparently a French vampire lord, and I was invited to meet him in his mansion somewhere in France, to discuss my wish to join their crew. _Sounds totally legit, let's just take a portkey to a vampire mansion! _

I could joke as much as I wanted but the result was the same. I had already agreed to the meeting. I was confident I would survive it, vampires and wizards had signed a treaty long ago, which specified that vampires wouldn't feed on wizards, and wizards wouldn't hunt vampires. It was a fair deal, and had been mostly respected until now. _There isn't much sense in inviting me in only to gut me, anyway._

I reached Jartle's Public Owlery and jabbed my wand to the stack of letter.

"Letter for Mr. Horus, password Jingle Jangle." I had stopped using Mr. Book after the Pettigrew incident.

The brown envelope extirpated itself from the first stack of letters and flew to me. I snatched it in midair and opened it. I wasn't especially eager to get there, but I didn't want to wander too long with the Dementors and Aurors in the area. I took the medallion out of the thick envelope and placed it around my neck.

"Activate."

I stumbled on the gravel floor, dazzled and disoriented. _Where the fuck am I?_ I looked around me. The gravel I had landed on was spread on a long walkway, decorated with two lines of high cypresses on both side. Beyond the trees there was a huge and well-kept domain. Green grass, sculpted bushes and sandstone fountains. A pleasant breeze washed over me, the sky was grey and busy with white the end of the walkway stood a majestic renaissance castle. _The vampire mansion. _I remembered what I was doing here, shaking the remaining blurs of international portkeying off my brain.

A crack resounded on my right, I jumped slightly and spun to it in a reflex. A young girl stumbled on the gravel, steadying herself efficiently, and turned to me. She wasn't pale at all, she had a very _living_ face, actually.

And she was younger than me under aging potion. _Fifteen, no more._

"Mr. Horus, if you would follow me. I will lead you to Master Prince Victor." she said with a low bow and a cute French accent.

I smiled to her and followed her up the walkway.

"You stand in the daylight, you are human." I stated simply as we walked the extensive path.

"I am, Mr. Horus. I am but a mere servant in this mansion, you may do whatever pleases you with me." she answered politely. _Damn!_ I was indeed thinking of all the things I'd do with her slender body.

"Why, though?" it was a mystery to me, why would a witch do that?

"I wish to join the kindred, Mr. Horus. I wish to become a permanent resident of Prince Victor's Harem." she explained in a shy but consistent voice.

My jaw dropped. _Jesus Christ, when they said "archaic monarchic system" in that book, they weren't joking around!_

"What's in, for you? Why would a witch do that?"

She raised her eyebrows in surprise, her first true expression until now.

"I am nothing but a mere human, Mr. Horus, I possess no such gift." she answered shamefully, looking down. I nodded. _That explains a lot. A muggle wishing for immortality_.

We walked a bit in silence before I inquired her some more.

"Tell me what you know about the hierarchy here, the prince, the king, all that jazz."

"The Prince Victor is the master of this land and manor; he is under the yoke of his father King Aimé Gábor Xavier, who possess all of southern France and a part of Spain. Prince Victor opens his manor to any paying kindred and regulates blood consumption in his father's kingdom."

She started giving me the name and title of every influential vampire in the manor and I cut her. I wasn't interested in having to remember French names.

"What did you mean by harem?"

"Qualifying for the Harem is the dream of every human in the manor, it means that you become Prince Victor's personal slave for ten years. After what you can claim freedom if you wish so, and in this case, Prince Victor will turn you himself, giving you the gift of immortality." she replied dreamily. _I get it now, why they warn against vampire seduction. Designed to attract mortals and seduce them, heh._

"But until you are chosen, you have to serve in the mansion." she added without a hint of a sigh.

"The prince doesn't mind having sloppy seconds in his harem?" I had learned this expression very recently and found it to my tastes.

She shook her head.

"Only those who give up on Master Victor give up their virginity. It is the only thing we have to offer, after all. Those who really wish to reach the top find other ways to satisfy the kindred in the meantime."

I looked at her outfit, straight out of a muggle fiction, black latex and thin lacy clothing barely covered her curves. _What am I putting myself in..._

"You... you are wizard, right?" she asked hesitantly, losing her eeriness from before.

"I am."

"The kindred isn't much fond of wizards. Many talk of you like dogs." she was staring at me, as if all the secrets of wizardkind would pop out of my face. "They say you aren't worthy of the gift of magic."

I laughed heartily.

"Well that may be true, but as far as I know, they're the one overusing the tiny amount of control they have over magic to hunt muggles and drink their blood. Who do you think made this little trinket for you?" I pointed to the necklace she had used to travel to me.  
"A vampire? Not a snowball's chance in a dragon's mouth, darling. They can't do shit except parlor tricks and a bit of mind control on weak creatures like you. Sure, they're strong, fast, and most importantly immortal, but that's nothing magic can't do."

"And what can wizards do, then?" she scowled.

"Us? We can do magic. We can raise mountains with our will alone, we can level cities with a flick of wand, we can summon the brightest fire and banish the darkest shadow. We _are _magic, we can kill anything with a jab and we can raise the dead with another, we _own_ this world, gorgeous. It is ours, and we can do whatever the hell we want with it." I ended my raving with a throaty laugh.  
"I could snap my fingers and burn this whole mansion to the ground, and nobody here could stop me."

She was in awe, my speech hit right on the spot.

"Can you really do that?" she muttered in admiration.

"First time meeting a wizard?" I grinned. She was so cute.

"I think it's the first time in centuries a wizard walked this pathway." she couldn't stop staring at me. I didn't know how to feel about it.

"Well, it takes time to master magic, but technically, we can do all of that. We can even do immortality, although I'll concede vampires are better at that."

She nodded.

"How does one become a wizard?"

I cringed. Now I felt like an ass. _Of course, she'd ask._

"You can't. You're born wizard or you're not."

She lowered her head once more and stayed silent, walking straight in front of her. She opened the main door and we entered the manor.

The main hall was very vampire-ish, red carpet, red armchairs and red tapestry decorated the room, along with iron torch holders shaped like bats and small demons. A huge crystal chandelier hung from the high ceiling and illuminated the place. Many vampire were sitting around, drinking blood from vine glasses served by muggle girls in the same revealing outfit as the one leading me. Some of those were on their knees, servicing vampires in shadowed corners, and other were being feasted on, moaning faintly in pain. _I guess some prefer drinking directly from the source._

While there were also whorishly outfitted females vampire in the lot, it was easy to spot the muggles, they were the one with colour in their skin and a awful look of acceptance on their pretty faces. On my left, against a bookshelf, three vampire women looking between thirty or forty years old were avidly gulping the crimson fluid flowing from the neck and arms of a fourteen years old girl who looked like she was about to pass out, her tiny body shaken by the voracious bites.

"Fucking hell, how many death do you get per day?" I muttered to my guide, as numerous vampires glared at me for trespassing. Obviously they had been warned of my presence, or I would already be a skinless piece of meat laying on the black wooden table.

"We are fed a strong blood replenishing potion, we regenerate our blood very quickly. The average death count is one per week, but most of the time it isn't an accident." she muttered as low as me.

"You must be one batshit insane muggle to volunteer for that jungle." I commented out loud, not bothering to mutter anymore. _If those fuckers want some, I'd be glad to oblige them.._

"Most of us didn't volunteer, we just know they'll kill us if we try to escape or fight back, and it isn't that bad in the end... the bites feel good."

"Did you volunteer?" We were now climbing the stairs to the first level. They were more... muggle than the great hall. The walls were painted a dark blue, and white muggle lights were encased in the ceiling and stairs. Only the thick dark red carpet reminded me I was in a vampire meeting center.

"Not at first. I was taken at thirteen. But now it's like I did, I wouldn't leave for anything." _Sure, that's why you jumped on the first occasion to ask how to become a witch..._

"Why do they take them so young?" I knew this would be my last question, she was standing beside a large double black steel door. The prince's office.

"The kindred has no use for old ones." she bowed and walked away. I rasped on the steel door. She stopped and turned to me. "If you do have the time, come meet me at the club, I would like to hear more about wizards." and with that she left, as the door opened in front of me.

I was facing a large office, a few seats and armchairs were pushed against the wall on my right and two girls servants were standing on my left, their eyes closed. In front of me was a wide desk, made of glass and steel. It looked like a very luxurious muggle office, it if wasn't for the dark colours and black parquet. The same embedded lamps I saw in the staircase illuminated the ceiling from the walls. There was a crystal chandelier above the center of the room, but it there were no candles on it. On the desk were placed a few items I had never seen, linked to each other with black strings. The chair was turned to the great window behind it, who gave a splendid view on the endless domain.

I eyed the two girls on my left and choose to ignore them. I walked to the desk, making my presence known by a small cough.

"I hear you, Mr. Horus, I smell you." said a refined voice from the seat.

"So, Here I am."

"Oui, Mr. Horus, here you are." the chair turned and revealed the famous prince. He was handsome, there was no doubt about that. In his thirties for Merlin knew how long, dressed in an elegant grey costume that fit him like a glove. His hair were combed perfectly and his pale skin didn't look quite as repulsing as some other vampires I saw in the hall.  
"You were summoned in the present Manor to prove your value, to prove _me_ you're worthy of following my dear friend and me in our little escapade outside this world." he started suddenly, with an obviously natural haughty voice. He was impressive, in a way.  
"We have been exerting our mind for the past three decades to unravel the secrets of Horus and make his portal reality again, and you, you think you possess anything that could prove helpful?" he stood up from his chair and walked to me.  
"You are younger than I expected, so much younger!" he realized suddenly, fascinated. _You have no idea.  
_"What could such a weakling possibly detain that we need?"

"First thing, I already gave you an important detail about the ritual, no use playing this game with me, prince. Secondly, you don't know how to fully operate the portal. I can help you. All I want is to go in there." I talked strongly, not letting him think he could toy with me and get away with it. "We have similar purposes, we could cooperate and be sure to succeed, or you could refuse and make us both lose the unique opportunity."

He grinned widely and snapped his fingers. One of the two servants opened her eyes and walked to a cupboard. I watched her with interest. She opened it and brought a scroll to us, placing it on the desk.

After what she walked back to her spot next to her coworker and closed her eyes obediently.

"If it's just for show, don't bother to instruct your slaves beforehand next time."

He looked at me and smiled.

"They are not only for show, Mr. Horus, if you'd wish so, I'd lend you one for the night." He grabbed the scroll and sat down on his desk nonchalantly.  
"On this rolled sheet is laid all the definitive information our people gathered on the portal opening ceremonial." he stared intently in my eyes and used the particular brand of mind magic his kin possessed to try to read me.

His honed skills made it almost unnoticeable but I spotted the probe. I purposely slammed the doors shut in his face, he crashed against my spiked door and snapped his eyes shut in pain, bringing his hand to his forehead immediately. I didn't quite understand how it worked, but Hellard said it simply made my magic react and transfer pain in the attacker's mind through the connection.

"Trying to get a glance at what _I _know, Mr. Victor?" I snarled, my hand around my new wand, ready to test it out.

"I merely wished to ordeal your resistance to psyche stressing, Mr. Horus. Such project couldn't afford to be jeopardized by a weak of the mind. I realize I misjudged you from your young age. Ironic, isn't it, coming from a kindred." he explained peacefully, visibly not ashamed at all. _He's right, though._

"Should I test your resistance too?"

"Do not get too cocky, young one. Now, for our agreement." he whistled. The second servant opened her eyes and nodded, her face expressionless. She walked out of the room.

"You love to toy with them, don't you?" I asked, both amused and disgusted by his little show.

"Do you like what you witness in this mansion, Mr. Horus?" he seemed genuinely interested by my answer.

"You kidnap, rape and eat little girls. How does it sound?"

"You are blind, Mr. Horus. Blinded by the society, the corrupt civilization of wizardkind shaped you like you stand before me. You forgot who you are, where you come from. You forgot the wild beast that you are." he walked to the window and continued to talk, his voice echoing in the office. "Vampires, Veelas, Wizards, Werewolves. We may be dissimilar in the very core of our existence, but there is one common point that unites us. We are above humans. We are beyond humanity." he turned to me again.  
"Tell me, Mr. Horus, is it inherently bad to use those inferior to serve us?"

I stayed silent. _It's bad because it's wrong. It's bad because it ruin lives. And you don't want to ruin lives_. I stayed silent because I knew it wasn't an answer he'd accept. It'd only reinforce his point.

"I think you get it now, Mr. Horus. It may be inherently bad, but we are beyond good or bad, those are human values. And we are greater than humans. It is your own choice to stay a sheep or to free yourself, young wizard, but the kindred has chosen."

"What happens to the girls in you harem, do you really offer them freedom after ten years?"

"I am not one to cheat, Mr. Horus, and I truthfully don't need nor want to keep them. Those who desire to leave shall leave, and those who desire to be turned shall be. We may not follow humans rules of good or bad, but we have our own laws to follow." he spat back, before switching to an evil grin, "Even if those are more like... guidelines."

The servant from before came back, followed by an old guy in blue robes. She took back her position and switched in gargoyle mode.

"I present to you Gregory. He is the man who worked on the ritual with Zephyros for me up until now." he waved an arm to indicate the man and sat back in his chair. "He will enlighten you on the details. Now leave me to think." he tossed me the scroll and clapped his hand. The two servants awoke and headed for the desk. Gregory went out of the office without a word, the door closed behind us before I could satisfy my curiosity. _What command is the clap?_

I followed Gregory in a few flights of stairs, and he opened a door for me. It was his workplace, obviously. Books were laying in heaps all over the place, scribbles and doodles covered huge sheets of paper glued to the walls. The room was large, very large. It was conceived around a small terrace in the middle; a circular platform of stony ground with a lump of earth and some vegetation in a corner.

"So you test rituals in there?" He didn't look like he was about to talk if I didn't start myself, probably bitter to have to deal with an just-out-of-the-school rookie.

"How did you get this information on the Sapphire of the Tomb? I would never have thought the distortion in the beams were caused by that, it changes the whole thing!" he barked at me. "It was all based on the human sacrifice as main anchor, do you have any idea of how _pissed off_ Master Victor was when he heard that in the end we'd need to rethink the entire ritual? Let me fill you in, he hates bad news!" he threw his arms in the air madly, triggering a parchment avalanche with his feet.  
"This ritual makes no sense! How many virgins did I sacrifice to test the anchoring?" he let out a long sigh and slumped on a chair.

I opened the scroll and read a few indications here and there.

"I lost the passion long ago, kid. I lost my enthusiasm about all of this story, I don't want to do it anymore but I know Victor would cave my skull in if I tried to quit." he reached for a bottle in the middle of heap of parchment, uncorked it and swallowed a large gulp.  
"The good money and free slaves all day and night aren't worth it. I don't wash myself anymore, I'm drunk all the time, I just can't stand it any longer." he started to sob.

I wasn't looking at him, I was picking pieces of paper left and right, reading what I could.

"Master Victor doesn't really care about all of this, he wants it to work but will do fine if it doesn't. That's the only reason I'm still alive. My incompetence is tolerated. But I can't leave. If I leave, I die." he wiped his puffy eyes through his hair falling down his forehead. "I may look a hundred years old, but I'm only sixty. I want to live."

He let that sunk in a moment whilst I skimmed through his stuff, finding a bit of useful data and a lot of crap.

"Think you can help me figure that shit out?" he finally croaked after gulping another mouthful from the bottle.

I nodded.  
"While I don't give half a fuck about you, we will work together. In the next few days you will go through all your papers and take only the valuable, _useful_ data. Then you will give me all of that and we'll cross-analyze it with my own info. I take that scroll."

I finished just in time as a girl walked out of the shadow from behind a pillar.

"Master Gregory? Shall I please your guest?" suggested the teenage girl dutifully.

Gregory shot a pained glance at me.

"I can't stand it anymore. Such a proud pureblood I was when I got here, pounding as much muggle ass as I could possibly manage, and now look at me. I can't stand looking at that muggle anymore, it pains me deep in my heart. I've sacrificed half a dozen of these ones on this very ground... no wonder I can't look in a mirror." he waved her off. "Get out of there, and don't come back, kid." She nodded and walked out.

_Of all the fucked up shit I've been through... I feel like I'm in another world. _I thought, watching the pretty muggle girl leave the room.

"Why do they choose exclusively teenagers?" I looked at my watch. I still had time before nightfall, but I was getting hungry.

"Lots of reasons. Easier to manipulate with mind magic, fresh and untainted blood, they all are virgins, and you can keep them longer before they fade. They're just cattle to them, sexy little pieces of meat you can stuff you dick and your fangs in." he scrunched his nose and swallowed another gulp from the bottle. I stretched my hand too him. I needed a good gulp too.

I stayed an hour with Gregory to prepare our communication ways and gather a few of the interesting developments he had accumulated over the years. When I left his lab, I was torn. Head to the underground part of the manor to find the club and talk with the first servant I had encountered, or finally go back in Hogwarts?

_What do I want from this girl? Certainly not _that_, even if it's totally natural for me to be attracted. Hell, she's actually older than me. To save her? Get her with me out of this place? What would be the point of that? To feel like I did what I could to help? Fucking stupid. I didn't come for that._

_You're a bad guy, Harry, get real and deal with it._

_I'm sick of this place, I need fresh air._

My decision taken, I grabbed the portkey on my necklace and vanished away.

* * *

"Hey Harry, didn't see you in the whole day! I thought you were with Loren but she's looking for you."

"Oh really? I was in the library." I tried, conscious that Loren probably looked in the library first, I had spent the day in the forest. Smith squinted and approached me.

"Harry, we talked about it with the others and we don't like what you're doing to Loren." he whispered threateningly in my ear. I raised an eyebrow and kept my face still.

Seeing that I was waiting for him to say more, he continued. "You obviously date someone else, and we know she's not a Hufflepuff. If you just keep Loren as a cover, you must stop it. We don't care if you're dating a Slytherin, Harry, but don't play with Loren's love like that!" he finished furiously, still whispering and spluttering in my left ear.

I forced myself to keep my calm, pinching my nose bridge and exhaled loudly.

"Smith, you're pulling facts out of your ass. I'm not dating anyone else that Loren, I just like to be alone. Don't you remember our first year? Was I already dating a Slytherin according to you? At eleven?" I shrugged and pushed him out of my way. "Don't interfere in my relationship with Loren."

"She's not going to trust you forever, Harry. Neither we will." I turned to him again.

"The fuck do you mean? What's _your_ problem?" I spat angrily, he was really getting me worked up.

"Our problem, Harry, is that we're a team, and you're the weak element. We keep covering you from the professors and everybody else because you're part of us, but you keep disappearing and lying, even to Loren!" he sighed and placed his hand on my shoulder. "Like I said before, we're a team. You're not playing with the team, Harry, we can't just keep telling everybody you're alright when you're always somewhere doing something we don't know about." he stared in my eyes sadly.

_I see. I guess I'm pushing my luck too much lately, ritual studies need a lot of time and reflection. _I looked around, we were in the first floor corridor near the great hall. There were a few paintings on the walls and some students circulating. _I'll obliviate him later._

"I'll think about it."

"Don't expect us to be friendly any longer if you keep playing with Loren's emotions." he crossed his arms. I nodded and walked away, not especially angry. It wasn't an issue after all, I just had to obliviate everybody. _Not something I'm not used to._

_Now, for Loren, it's a different story._ I wouldn't obliviate Loren, that was definitive. _I need to make sure she's not with them, or she'll notice their sudden memory loss._

I entered the hall and scanned the Hufflepuff table from the door. Loren wasn't here.I turned around and headed for the library. _No use in sitting down there if they're all going to pester me like Smith._

The library was mildly busy, the best places near the windows had been taken. I walked to the rear end, beyond the last shelves and sat on my favorite spot, breaking the disgust ward I had set on it to keep it free. Nobody could possibly see what I was doing without me seeing them come before. I opened my three disguised books on various rituals and spread them around my parchment on the table, I unrolled the massive scroll on my lap and flipped the pages of my Horus notebook. I had carved runes on everything, a simple snap of my fingers and they would close immediately.

I had been doing a lot of work in the forest lately, hence Smith's concern about my absences. I was testing a few things, experimenting a few theories. My work with Gregory was a lot of cross-analyzing different documents. I had definitive information on my notebook and on the scroll, but nothing was really definitive in rituals. And we would have only one try.

Zephyros was less knowledgeable than I expected, I came to that conclusion after a few exchanges with the enchanted parchment Gregory had given to me that allowed the three of us to have written meetings in our respective country. He knew the basics, but didn't quite understand the flexibleness, the hint of creativity and madness you needed to create the logic. It was more and more easy for me, I understood it, I saw where I could tweak and change established rituals to improve them and was progressing neatly in the portal of Horus.

So in the end, it was mostly me and Gregory. Zephyros would be handling the funding and Victor would be managing the dark materials we'd need.

Because according to me, we'd need quite some nasty stuff. A virgin sacrifice was definitely needed, as Gregory had guessed, but not as the main anchor, just as a plus, an extra. I wasn't quite sure why, but virgin sacrifice greatly enhanced the flow of blood-powered rituals. Not that I had tested this, I trusted the books and Gregory's experience for that.

The other items we'd need were not as vicious. Fresh human organs, a lot of them. Twenty fresh hearts as secondary anchors and various others on the disruption spikes, to stabilize the power of the main geometrics.

Along with that, we needed a barrel or two of unicorn blood - funnily, it was considered so much worse than standard human blood - and two Legendary Salamander beating hearts. I was almost sure we'd have to terrorize the unicorn before bleeding it, so the blood would be tainted by fear. There was no technical requirement for that, but I figured it would reinforce whatever god's or demon's name we'd call in the chant, according to things I had read.

Victor assured he'd take care of all that.

Zephyros would order the gate itself, a huge frame of crystal that would catalyze and balance the energy flawlessly, opening the Entrance to Hell. He took in charge everything else too, the numerous potions we'd have to feed the virgin sacrifice, the sapphire, and the construction around the portal to hold the anchors and such, probably made of adamantine to isolate the ritual's ingredients from the ambient magic perfectly.

The rest was up to Gregory and me, and thankfully, we already had the chant. It was one of the most important aspects.

While we were rearranging Gregory's stuff in his lab and seeking interesting papers, he had given me his ring. A thin golden ring marked with a stylish V for Victor.

The thing was magically signed and impossible to counterfeit, it was a key to every imaginable place in France, and most particularly the black market. Like us British people, they had their "shady" street in the local magical marketplace, where kids weren't allowed to go because it was a place for dark wizards. Le Cercle Vicieux, the vicious circle. Not hidden at all but considered dangerous, like our sweet Knockturn Alley.

He had enlightened me on the balance between the Ministry, the Veelas, the Vampires and the mafias. They were clans, fighting and dealing with each other, signing peace treaties and breaking them since centuries. It was probably the same in England, but I wasn't aware of it. _The Ministry is nothing more than a clan of wizards like another, it doesn't have any more rights to control the citizen than Vampires and Veelas have. It likes to think it does, but it really doesn't. That's why Aurors don't step into the Cercle Vicieux too much, it is Veela territory and they're not especially welcome._

Gregory had given me an invaluable secret, the access to the most extensive Dark Arts bookshop of the world, The Marianna Trench. He had explained me how obscure it was to most of the magical population, only a name on something that no one ever saw. But it was actually real, and accessible from the Cercle Vicieux. The building itself was apparently located in a secret place, nobody knew where, but it was accessible from a few places over the world by an ancient brand of magic. Ancient magic seemed to power it if I trusted Gregory, wards ensured that nobody with any other intent than reading, buying or selling books could enter. I was eager to visit it, even if Gregory told me he spent days looking for any information on the portal inside.

No, I wasn't looking for that, I was sure I would find something on body creation rituals in there.

The perfect body creation ritual. _There have to be a way..._

* * *

I walked around the corner of the old-looking house and peered at the empty street. No one in sight, I had no idea of where I was or where I was meant to go. I berated myself for not asking more direction to Gregory, the place was a damned maze. _And not a single soul to help me find the way..._

I walked some more, crossing empty streets in a sense and in another, and as I was starting to get pissed, I felt a soft tingling on my magic. I was entering a warded part of the small town. _Finally, I'm getting close. Damn this stupid portkey shop for not being able to send me directly there, seriously._..

I turned a corner and suddenly faced a scenery of liveliness and activity. Witches and wizards were moving in all direction around the huge fountain in the middle of the gigantic plaza. The fountain was a statue of a veela sitting on two men, her legs crossed and her face serene. She was naked, and water streamed out of her nipples. The two men were on their knees and elbows and were turning their head painfully to admire the lesser demon sitting on their back, water flowing out of their eyes. I remembered the words of Victor. _Greater than humans._

I strolled for a while, exploring the interesting French magical marketplace, and spotted the entrance to the famed place a bit further. In the extremity of a large dead end stood the infamous building. Four stories high, made of old stone and wood, there was nothing special to it except for the impressive sign that indicated "Le Cercle Vicieux" in thick golden letters on the dark green wood and the fact that all the windows were shut with wooden planks. The place seemed abandoned and rotting from a distance, like one of these haunted houses in children books.

There were a few people in front of it, hanging around in the street, which acted more like a front yard to the building. I made my way through the crowd and entered the large entrance. The two big doors were kept open. Behind them was a lengthy stone corridor. I walked it down and eventually emerged into the Cercle Vicieux. It was a work of art and architecture like I had never seen before on such a large scale.

A wide boulevard started at my feet and looped on itself, curling around the higher level and so on, with various building hanging precariously at its edge, creating small alleys and side streets like thorns on a rosebush. Like a snake resting in a jug, the boulevard was coiled on many levels until it reached the top and center of the small town it really was.

A castle. A magnificent castle, easily Hogwarts level, dwarfed the whole town under it, shining like a thousand stars in the night and at the same time ominously shadowing the houses that sought its proximity from moonlight.

That was the famous Royal Castle I has been told about. The most luxurious and hyped place in France, despite being a house of dark magic and veela corruption. Queen Marjolaine's castle, where weekly masquerade balls were hosted the old fashioned way, with fancy dresses and veela waitresses.

Queen Marjolaine was the current veela queen, she had absolute authority in this part of the globe. It was ruled by the local mafias, just like Knockturn Alley, but if she did as much as to raise a finger, they'd all crawl to her feet. There was no logical reason for that as far as I knew, it was all political influence and connections I didn't know of.

I went up the boulevard, looking for the address Gregory had given me. _Derrière le Masque _was meant to be in one of the side alleys between buildings alongside the boulevard. The shop, while being an actual shop, was a passage to a smaller place of dark knowledge, one reserved to people who actually knew what they were coming for.

I checked a few alleys on what I'd call the second level as there was only one level of buildings under me, and was unsuccessful. I stopped a couple wizards walking by me.

"Would you happen to know where is _Derrière le Masque_?" I figured I'd ask instead of running around the whole night.

Not speaking English, they pointed me a red building discernible two levels above me. I walked some more and finally reached the alley that led to the red building, almost getting lost on the way, despite literally following a straight road. It was strangely disturbing and dizzying to walk the circular boulevard.

"Halte! Les mains en l'air, doucement!" shouted imperiously a male voice behind me. I didn't understand what he wanted, but "halt" and the domineering tone were clear enough.

I turned slightly to them, gearing up with my best naive face.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I got what you meant." I smiled and prepared myself to unleash hell on earth, two wizards were training their wands at me. They were dressed in no special uniforms, but there was something weird about them. _They look out of place, they look like they try too hard to blend in._

The wizard who spoke whispered something to his colleague.

"Place your wand on the ground and raise your hands." he articulated slowly but clearly, obviously not a fluent English speaker. They were still pointing their wands at me. _Can't risk anything, they'll be the first to send curses and they have the numerical superiority._

"I don't think I've done anything illegal, sir." I crouched and dropped my wand on the unequal cobblestone, wishing that I had kept my old cherry friend with me at least as a decoy.

"We bring you to Auror center for identification." The clumsy sentence froze my spine just as I was raising my hands in the air. _I can't follow them, I have no identity. _I didn't lose any thinking time wondering why they were after me, I was analyzing my immediate opportunities.

_He's reaching my wand, his wand is pointing to the ground._ I shot a quick glance to the Auror in the back. _He's still aiming at me. Be patient._

The one closer to me grabbed my wand and pocketed it, he then turned to his buddy and nodded. _He dropped his aim. Big mistake, frog-eater._

I grabbed the wand wrist of the guy before me, effectively broke it and made him drop his wand, and _pushed_ him forward, palm against his back, with all my might. He was chucked toward the second Auror like a cannon ball hex, not even having the time to yelp before the impact. Having no direct visual on me, the standing Auror tried to avoid his flying mate and quickly sent a desperate cutting hex, but he was too slow. They collided, both were sent sprawling further down the alley. The cutting hex was botched but somehow still reached me and cut a slight gash on my cheek.

The improvised Auror cannon had taken only a second, his wand was only touching the ground now, I snatched it and jabbed it to them, hoping it would work.

"Un vampire! Putain!" yelled one, picking himself up rapidly.

"Crispum Incarcerous" A chain appeared around them and savagely bound them. I reached them in three overpowered steps and kicked in the right arm of the one who was trying to stick his wand out of the chain.

Bones cracked with a sick noise and the Auror wailed in the night, his wand clattering a couple feet on the left. I muted them both with a flick of the light brown wand, sealing their mouths and noses with a glowing band of light. _Fairly efficient, even if I have to force my magic through it to get a result._

The dark chain coiled around them more and more, it wouldn't stop until I removed it. I summoned my wand from its thief and kept the other in my back pocket. _Could come in handy if I purify it before leaving France._

"Why were you after me?" I asked calmly, forcibly breathing slowly to unnerve my startled senses. Behind them, nobody seemed to have seen or to care about us. They refused to talk, affronting my gaze with strong resolution.

The one on the left spat on my feet, I backhanded him with my free hand, sending a teeth flying in a spurt of blood and saliva. His head slumped down numbly, he was knocked out. _Could have broken a rock with that slap..._

"Legilimens!" I roared, effectively breaking through the mind of the only one still conscious.

_"Viens voir ça, José." _

_The man beckoned my point of view to come. Apparently, I was José. José walked to him and watched the glowing rune on the marble block. The rune of concealment. Some guy passed the control wards with a heavy disguise on._

_The second Auror asked something in French. José nodded and took his cloak, they were going out._

I swam a bit further in the sea of thoughts, the vision became blurred and focused again, on another memory.

_José and his colleague had been following the man for quite a bit now. They were about to quit when he suddenly stopped a passerby and discussed with him a bit. Apparently, he was asking for directions. He thanked them and set off._

_José whistled to said passerby and showed him his Auror badge._

_"Aurors. Dites-nous ce qu'il voulait et on vous laisse tranquilles." said José in a professional tone that left no room for a negative answer._

_"Il voulais trouver Derrière le Masque, la boutique de masques plus haut."_ _José looked at his colleague who displayed a grave expression. He nodded knowingly and they hurried after the mysterious man without a word._

My eyes jerked open. _No idea what they were saying, but they don't know anything about me at all, that's for sure._

Relieved, I obliviated the pair of Aurors and stunned them again, throwing them in a nook between two houses, tied in transfigured ropes. _Good luck getting rid of those._

Hoping there wouldn't be any Aurors on the lookout for the red shop, I pushed the door and stepped inside.

The walls were covered with finely crafted masks, all more impressive than the others, coated in glitters and slithering magical paint or ornamented with unicorn hair and hippogriff feathers.

I made a beeline to the counter, where an old witch was patiently waiting and reading a magazine.

"I was invited in by Prince Victor." I spoke quietly, placing my right hand on the counter to clearly expose the ring. She raised an eyebrow and nodded to her left, where an entrance awaited.

I walked through the veiled doorframe and walked down the stairs, feeling a massive number of wards wash over me again and again, until I reached a door. I opened it and walked outside again, confused.

It was a vast courtyard, three shops encased it, making it impossible to see where I was exactly in the town. A group of people were discussing in a corner, giving a tiny amount of life to the tranquil place. The shop on my left was closed, windows and door were shut down with iron sheets, a discolored area above the main door was the only vestige left from the sign. On my right, behind the group of hooded wizards was a Mercenary Office. On its wall was pasted a multitude of poster and bills, and through the window I could see the caged counter bath in a yellow light, a fat man sitting behind. _So that's where you find assassins._

You could find assassins anywhere, but Mercenary Offices were part of a network, the mercenaries they hired were the best, and had access to a lot of equipment and information all over the globe. It was a true organization.

In front of me was the notorious bookshop. Its deep blue windowless wall gleamed with titles of books carved into it in a lighter blue and moving horizontally, each line at a different speed. _The Marianna Trench, I see now._

It looked like a sea, a constantly flowing ocean. _A dark and deep ocean of knowledge._

I admired the exquisite paint for a moment, Gregory had said "the biggest collection of dark art books". I could believe he didn't lie only by the external part of the wall. If all the title rolling before my eyes were therein, it was impressive. A thousand titles were swimming to the edge of the building and not once I saw one appear two times in ten minutes.

I eventually grabbed the handle of the front door and pushed. I was not ready to witness what I witnessed behind that door, my jaw dropped. The shop was gigantic, enormous, way too big to fit in the building I had been admiring a second before.

I was standing on a stone platform that led to the unoccupied counter on my left, and in front of me were thousands of bookshelves, arranged in a cylindrical architecture, coating the walls with books and leaving the center of the room free like an oversized well.

The bookshelves were accessible by small stone bridges that looked like they dated from Merlin himself and didn't collapse only thanks to the magic sustaining them. The bridges were crisscrossed, going up and down, longing the shelves at some place and zigzagging against them at other places. They were leisurely moving in a circular manner and without a sound, so slowly that my eyes only detected it after a few seconds of staring.

The entrance wasn't at ground level, I could see the ceiling about twenty yards above me, but the floor was indiscernible, I could only see darkness behind the fog twenty yards under my feet. There were no torches, no windows, only a wide chandelier hanging in the middle and lighting the upper part. The shelves weren't all stacked with books, I saw piles of dusty parchments, heaps of scrolls and gleaming roman marble tablets laying around. It was incredible, I stood here entranced for a while, my mind trying aggressively to find answers. What _was_ this place?

"Welcome to the Marianna Trench. I shall warn you, there is no magic here. Even the simplest _Lumos_ cannot be cast in those walls." I turned to the counter, an old wizard had appeared from the door behind it.  
"If you wish to visit the lower section, you can buy a lantern. Thank you." he spun around and headed for the door again.

"Wait a minute!" I shouted to the man just before he reached the handle. He sighed and turned to me again, probably raising an eyebrow. I couldn't tell with the amount of grey facial hair he possessed.  
"How do I find what I'm looking for?" I asked the most important question first, in case he'd answer only one.

"The shelves are ordered by subjects, read the golden plates."

I turned to the room - no, cavern - in front of me an squinted to see the golden plates he mentioned. I could see a few people sitting on the landings or on the stairs themselves and reading tomes or strolling slowly around.

"I see... tell me, why can't I do magic?" _I'm not wasting hours to find my book on body rituals, a simple Accio is all I need._

He sighed. "This place is older than you think, each stone is imbued with lost magic and act as a ward anchor. The wall around us is the most efficient ward ever. It nullify any magic outside of what we put on the stones themselves." he explained without any excitement.  
"I honestly wonder how someone as young and ignorant as you find their way to this place." he added quietly as an afterthought.

"Wait, you must have some sort of storage enchantment in there, I saw the titles on the wall, you'd have to link the shelves to something for that!"

He grinned faintly and nodded.

"We do."

"Well then, you could _at least_ give me a complete list of your tomes."

"Very well, since you insist, I shall help you finding what you seek. I usually prefer letting you folks spend hours in there." he placed his wand on something I couldn't see behind the counter. "Make them browse other books and buy more than they came for." he chuckled. "So, what will it be?"

I raised an eyebrow at his sudden lack of mysteriousness.

"Necromancy, Body Rituals."

His emotionless eyes darkened, he nodded and uttered a few mumbled words in his beard, pressing his wand on the surface behind the counter. He took a piece of paper and a quill and scribbled a few numbers on it.

"Those are the shelves concerned. First number is the column, second is the level according to the bridges, and third is the shelve." he handed me the paper with a wink. "Don't tell anybody I can do that, it would ruin the experience for a lot of them. Now, I have things I must attend to." and with that, he left.

_Well... let's roll up our sleeves and find a damned ritual that works. There have to be a perfect body making ritual somewhere in there. _I peered in the pit under me as I walked toward the first bookshelf. _Column four, level number eight and shelve number twelve._

I looked at the bridges. The eighth series of landings was on the outskirt of the menacing fog.

I sighed and grabbed a lantern.

* * *

**_AN: This chapter was a bit fat, but I don't think that's a problem to anybody, is it?_**

**_Now to answer to those who think it might be getting a bit "too dark", I see what you mean and will think harder about it, but it was my intention in the first place to make it somewhat messed up and make Harry go full dark lord (even if its for a just cause). For the one review that told me of my horrible grammar, I'm sorry you hated it that much and will look into the issue, I didn't realize my grammar was this bad._**

**_I've updated all the chapters with a little title and stuff to make them a bit easier on the eyes. There is nothing new in the content itself._**

**_The story is about half done, for those who might be wondering. _**

**_Last but not least, thank you for reading and commenting._**


	10. Chapter 10

_**I would buy the rights to HP, but I lost my credit card. Until then, all rights belongs to Rowling etc.**_

* * *

**.**

**Too Young to Die.**

**.**

**Chapter 10.**

**.**

* * *

I shivered and moved my wristwatch closer to the lantern. _One hour left before Transfiguration class._

This time I couldn't wait any longer. I snapped the heavy volume shut and stood up. I had been reading for so long the bridge had now turned an almost full circle. Or so I guessed, not like it was actually possible to be sure in the pitch-black lower section. Not only it was dark, but there was a creeping, bone-chilling fog hanging around, making it even harder to see beyond ten inch in front of you. _I swear, there has to be a Dementor chained down here. _I thought, sneezing one more time.

I peered at the book I had settled on, almost certain that it contained the help I needed. _One thing is certain, I can't not take it._ The Volume of The Red Manticores wasn't such an old book, it dated from the seventeenth century and was the final recollection of all the achievements of The Red Manticores, written by the last of its members and partially translated from Russian to English by an unknown person who had crudely stuffed the translated sheets in between the pages. It contained many rituals, many explanations of the why and the how. Only the how interested me, though.

From what I had already read when I skimmed the thick tome for a few dozen minutes, The Red Manticores were a very secret group of Necromancers that had all sort of experiments going on during the seventeenth century.

Having less than ten members, the group had stayed secret for decades, revolutionizing Necromancy and preparing their plans in the shadows, meeting in remote forests and caves.

Because they had plans. While being a group of skillful Necromancers interested in sharing their knowledge to push the limits of the dark arts, they also had a political purpose. They became momentarily famous when they tried to overthrow the Russian magical government with a single squad of undead mages. The Necromancy was so well done that the undead successfully infiltrated the Tzar's army and attacked it from the inside. The plot was countered by sheer luck, as the Tzar was in his bath instead of his bed, changing his usual schedule for the first time in years, on a whim. The undead squad was wiped out after a few hours of violent battle, and the Necromancers were hunted and executed. Only one survived and compiled the very book I was holding.

What had really caught my eyes was the mention of Yevgeny Melor in the introduction, the strategist of their group. He apparently had re-created his own body to the perfection and sealed a part of his own soul inside it, cleaving it in two. I had already seen mentions of such an act in my soul magic book, the act of tearing your soul in two to store a piece in a safe place to survive if your first part got destroyed. This guy had created a twin of himself and worked with it on the various strategies they put up. _The same brain working with itself on a problem, how odd that must be._

I climbed the stairs back up, wondering just how much that book would be worth. It was unique and contained really interesting data, but it had been stored in the lower section, where few people ever wander, and it wasn't nearly fully translated. _Hell, all the technical details are raw and untranslated._

I finally emerged out of the fog and felt the warm light of the chandelier against my skin again. Ten levels of bridges and stairs later, I was finally back at the counter. The old man from before was waiting here this time, reading a strange book.

"Hello again, I found what I was looking for." I dropped the heavy volume on the counter. "How much?"

He closed his paperback muggle novel and placed it aside. He chuckled at my intrigued look.

"Muggles are quite good at literature." he explained before looking at the volume in front of him critically. "Never saw this one, I'll check the list."

I checked my watch impatiently, forty minutes left. _It's starting to get real close._ The bookseller looked at the list for a few moment, twiddling his wand near the ward stone to find it on the parchment linked to the stone.

"Ah! Here we are, The Volume of The Red Manticores, unique and absolutely forbidden in every country as it contains very dark and exceptional magic. Six hundred thousand galleons." he smiled.

_Jesus fuck!_

"Six hundred thousand galleons?" I snorted openly. "Are you god damn serious?"

I couldn't take it by force, I couldn't use magic. I couldn't even force it in my arms to break the old man's head. All he had to if I tried anything was to snap his fingers and I'd get thrown out.

"If you don't have the money, you don't get the book. Now if you really _need_ this book, we could make an arrangement." he grinned widely.

"Do tell." It made me sick. There was no way he would give me something _that_ expensive for a mundane favor.

"I am a book trader, young man, I store books, I sell books, and I also buy books. I can give you a list of wanted books, if you can put your hands on one, I'd be glad to trade with you." he explained calmly. Something suddenly popped in my mind. _One of the one thousand most precious magical tomes in the world... The diary! _

I grinned wider than him.

"How about the Diary of Hellard the Tempestuous?" I asked slyly. "One of the one thousand most precious tomes, a tool like no other that teaches anyone who reads it the art of mind magic." I claimed loudly, selling the virtues of the book like I would expect a merchant to.

His eyes opened gradually, a look of comprehension gaining control over his facade.

"The Zabini break-in." he muttered in his beard, his eyes still wide open and finally nodded. "I'll take it. The Diary for the Book of the Manticore or whatever it is."

I chortled, the Diary was probably worth a lot more according to his list, but I was in no position to refuse.

"Agreed, keep that one warm for me and I'll come back in a few day with the Diary."

"Very well."

We wished each other a good day and I walked out of the ancient bookshop only to squint as the morning light burned my eyes. I had a thought for the French Aurors I had left tied and stunned in between two houses, wondering quickly if they spent all the night outside. _I won't take the risk to check, though. I'm already as late as I can afford. _I grabbed the round-trip portkey and dove back in Hogsmeade.

I rushed my strides, allowing a bit of magic to help my muscles and reached the secret passage, already swallowing the counter-pill to the aging potion and undressing myself, tearing the disillusionment charm apart.

I was already late for the first lesson of the day, but I maybe I could manage to not be _too _late. I ran through the passage, faster and swifter with my enhanced body than a broom. I had a new broom, offered by a good part of the Hufflepuff house, a Nimbus Stallion. It was a really nice broom, even if it wouldn't hold long against the new Nimbus 2000, but I didn't trust myself enough to not push it out of its limits and crash in a stalactite.

My satchel bounced brutally on my back as I ran madly into the dark cave, leaping over obstacles and pushing myself forward with the hand that wasn't casting a constant _Lumos_. I was a mad monkey racing in the dark.

Thankfully, I knew the passage better than my pocket and I was quickly on the other side, hardly exhausted. My magic muscle had experienced a growth spurt recently, leaving me with more endurance than ever. The fact that I was exercising it since eleven added up to it, and in the end, I was easily adult-level powerful. My looks had changed too, probably because of all the rituals and premature use of aging potion, I was looking more than fourteen, even more than sixteen actually. I was taller than Zach, as tall as James. I wasn't scared of being questioned about it in Hogwarts, it was not too unusual at this age.

I was now striding in the corridors of Hogwarts, allowing myself to jump down entire stairways since everybody was in class. Only the paintings were here to look at me with huge round eyes and gap at my prowess as my agile feet absorbed the shock from a double stairway jump, making a loud sound that echoed in the whole wing.

I stopped myself and switched back into my "human" mode, trotting swiftly to the Transfiguration class. I peered at my watch. _Twenty minutes late._ _McGonagall won't like it._

I winced as I pushed the door, which had chosen to creak loudly to announce my presence.

The class was of course silent. Everybody stared at me as I cleared my throat and smiled apologetically.

"I'm sorry I'm late, professor McGonagall, shall I attend your lesson, please?" I spoke with my eyes down like a nice schoolboy. I wouldn't care much if she refused and sent me away, but I had to stay polite.

She frowned, obviously irritated. _Come on, I'm not late that often, am I?_

"You will attend my lesson and you will get a detention, Mr. Potter. Yes, Mr. Potter, I am aware the year is almost over but you leave me no choice. Now take a seat and be silent, we were taking notes of the Principal Rules of a Conjured Liquid." She said, turning to the class to continue her lesson.

I sighed and made my way to Loren. Smith shot me a glance and greeted me with a nod. _What's that Smith? Not angry after me anymore? _I chuckled. _Silly me, I forgot you forgot._

I had obliviated every each one of my fellow third years Hufflepuff a few nights before. It was easy, just tap on their shoulder, wait for them to wake up and boom - Midnight Obliviation right in the face. The best kind of obliviation, as the dreams later that night totally cover up the traces I might have left. _Not that I would let any traces._

I sat down on the bench beside Loren. She eyed me suspiciously.

"Where the hell were you this time, Harry? In the forest again?" she whispered as I brushed her lips for a discreet morning kiss.

"Well... yeah." It had been a long time since I disappeared for a night and came back late, usually I managed to be here for the first lesson and even Loren had no idea, only noticing how tired I was between two pepper-up potions.

"Like that night? Why did you go in there?" she inquired furiously.

"Listen, I do what I want, okay? If you have a problem with it, speak it." I answered strongly with a furious glare of my own. I knew how to push her buttons.

She exhaled deeply, her face softening.

"I... I don't want to be _that_ kind of girlfriend, Harry. But I'm scared and I really really wonder _why_ you do all the stuff you do. Disappearing to read books on your own, spending the whole night in the frigging Forbidden Forest, of all places!" she hissed in a whisper, still close to me so nobody could hear it.

"And a lot of people wonder why you do half the stuff _you_ do, Loren. If it wasn't for that Lovegood girl in second year you'd be labeled nutcase of the castle." _Seriously, I got a point. _"Remember when you enchanted the common room's armchairs to take a hike in the park so we could ride them?" I smiled. That had been a grand night. "Just trust me and let me be. I don't want to lose you over something stupid like that."

She softened even more and smiled weakly, her lips brushing mine once again.

"Just promise me you're careful, whatever you're doing in there, okay?" she muttered against me, her hot breath warming my lips.

"Promise." I finally kissed her, refraining my fervor. We were in a Transfiguration lesson, after all.

"Seriously, can't you two _stop_ for ten seconds?" moaned irritably Louise from behind us.

"Do you see Bruke and Montgomery snogging every damn minute? No. And is Elissa constantly groping Sean? I don't think so. Get some decency, for Merlin's sake."

"Excuse me for dating an amazing kisser, Louise. You can't fathom how hard it is to stay decent." quipped Loren before letting me go. Louise was still trying to win me over, and Loren loved to remind her who exactly was with me.

"Don't think you're better than anyone because you found someone blind enough to date you, Nerys." _Oh dear, surnames._

"When Harry will grow some hormones, he won't look at you twice." she winked and flashed me a bright smile. She was shaping up to be one hell of a witch, her chest was already twice as developed as anyone else's and she had those plump lips and nice little freckles on the cheeks that would give her a look of innocence even after she'll be fully grown up. Add to that a thin but curvy body, a delicious belly button on her smooth pink skin that she had proudly rubbed over my face the other day in the common house, perfectly shaped legs and arms and amazingly deep blue eyes. Yes, she was slowly becoming the hottest witch in the castle.

_Too bad she has a shit personality._ Or maybe she was just annoying to me, because everybody else loved her.

"Don't expect me to drop Loren for your cleavage, Louise." I cut the oncoming dispute short as McGonagall was watching us.  
"Now both of you shut the hell up or you'll follow me in detention." I muttered and started writing down the rules of liquid conjuration on Loren's parchment, not having bothered to get my stuff out.

The lesson went on slowly, I learned things about conjuration and had difficulties performing it. My new wand was really good for dark magic, it _loved _it. I could feel it scream victory everytime I cast something dark with it, I could sense it shiver with me as pleasure flooded us. But for anything else, I found it somewhat reluctant. It did what I wanted, but nothing more. It was like it accepted that I used it but didn't want to help me. I wasn't sure if it was really the case or if I was extrapolating, but the result was a mediocre spell casting in class.

I ended up conjuring the pool of water just after Louise did. Oh yes, Louise was also one of the best at practical magic.

Loren was really terrible at conjuring and gave up, smiling weakly when I tried to cheer her up by reminding her how she had crushed Louise in Defense the other day. She wasn't bad at magic in general, just very average.

We attended Herbology after Transfiguration and finally went to eat. I had downed two homemade pepper-up potions in the morning and was very hungry.

As we sat down and started diving in the exquisite food, people around us started to talk excitedly and to move around like kids the Christmas evening. Students were talking to each other and gaping at the news.

"What's going on?" I asked to Priscillia as she grazed past me, grabbing her by the arm.

"Oh, Harry! You don't know?" She forgot to smile. She always smiled for me, I suspected she liked me from all the glances and smiles I caught from her during the few Quidditch practices I participated to. But not this time.

"Obviously not."

"Well, how to say that..." she started, hesitating. "Well... we don't really know for sure yet, but there's a rumor that Zachary Potter was attacked by Pettigrew yesterday night." she said flatly.

_What?_

"They say he attacked him in the park and Zachary killed him." she added, amazed at her own words. "I don't know where it comes from, but everyone's talking about it!"

"Oy! Priss! What did they say?" yelled some guy down the table. She acknowledged him with a wave of her hand and looked back at me.

"You should see Dumbledore, he would let you know for sure." she muttered softly, thinking I was terrified. And I was. _Zach killing Pettigrew? No way. Pettigrew, the guy who fought James and killed a dozen muggles in the process? No fucking way._ I had studied the excavation curses after reading about it in the newspaper. Apparently Pettigrew overpowered one to kill more than ten persons in a single shot; I had found out these kinds of spells were too big and strong to be cast alone by any normal wizards without special precautions. I had tried it and confirmed that. Pettigrew had to be really powerful to pull it off.

_And Zach dueled him?_

_And won?_

I looked back up at Priscillia and nodded.

"Yeah, I'll do that, thank you."

She smiled at me for a few seconds and ran to the guy who had called her to spread the rumor some more.

I explained quickly to my group of third years what was going on and headed for the headmaster's office, realizing that I had never directly talked to the crazy old man. I was at his door after almost losing myself on the way, thankfully helped by paintings. _Years in this castle and I still can't find my way..._

I knocked on the door between the two fake gargoyles and waited.

Ten minutes later, I conjured myself a neat armchair and placed it against the wall before sitting inside. _If I'm going to wait, I'll be sitting down. I'm a Potter, for goodness' sake!_ I smirked at my try at pureblood nobility impersonation and waited for another ten minutes.

The door eventually opened, showing me a twisted staircase. Nobody was inside, I guessed it was for me. I climbed the stairs and opened the mahogany door at the top. Behind it was the strangest room I had seen in Hogwarts so far. Not especially large but very welcoming, the office was made of a rich brown wood and grey stone, giving it a "Hogwarts" look while being noticeably more comfortable than any Hogwarts room. The desk on the end was a massive wood piece, covered with tiny items I couldn't guess the use of, and behind it were a bunch of paintings. Something attracted my eyes more than anything else; next to the desk was a fiery coloured bird, standing proudly on its perch. I didn't need to scan my mind to understand what it was. Dumbledore's pet phoenix.

I didn't wander too long on the details, the room was quite busy. Zach was sitting in a chair, and standing up beside him were two wizards I never saw. In front of them all, behind the desk, was sat Dumbledore. Who stood up and looked at me.

"It would seem that the last member of our happy crew has arrived." he joked with a smile. The man was obviously insane.

"Yeah, well... I heard things so I wanted to check it out." I explained lamely and shrugged.

"A wise decision." stated Dumbledore, letting silence fill the room. He didn't look like he wanted to say anything more. I shrugged again. _Oh well._

"So, you killed Pettigrew?" I asked nonchalantly to Zach, who was staring at me like the others.

He jumped back, seemingly appalled at the very idea.

"Merlin no!" he squeaked. "He attacked me and I neutralized him, I'm not a murderer!" he spat defensively.

"Right, I forgot about that." I started before I could stop myself. "Killing your sister doesn't count as murder, it's an _accident_."

Zach whitened, his face stiffening, and stayed silent.

"Now, now, let us not remember hard memories in a time of joy and happiness." claimed Dumbledore, standing up. His eyes twinkled as he surveyed every person in the office. _Joy and happiness... I can't believe this guy.  
_"Zachary, we have taken enough of your time for today, you may go." he smiled and turned to the wizards I didn't know.  
"Minister, Auror Shacklebot, do you have any other questions?" they looked at each other and grumbled negatively.  
"Splendid! Harry, would you stay for a moment?" He clapped his hands, and turned to me, still smiling widely.

"Sure." _Am I even allowed to say no?_

The group left the room, the Minister of Magic looked at me weirdly as they walked to the door. Once said door was shut closed, the headmaster sat back and beckoned me to do so.

"Lemon drop?" he stretched his hand to offer me a candy from a basket. I eyed the thing suspiciously and grabbed one.

"Never heard of that. Is it some kind of old people's candy?" I commented casually as I tasted the sticky yellow stone. It was good, I had to admit.

Dumbledore chuckled and looked above me pensively.

"Perhaps it is, Harry, perhaps it is. I confess I have never given much thought to the matter." he made a pause, and suddenly recollected his thoughts, directing his gaze at me again.  
"Anyway, Harry, I didn't keep you for that. I suppose you have a lot of questions on your mind, and I know James is under the Auror's vow to not divulge information on the investigations to anyone." He smiled, again. "And I think it is time for you to be informed."

I nodded, I really didn't care much about the story itself, but I wanted to know one thing.

"How in hell did Zach manage to beat Pettigrew?"

"Ahhh, the details of this duel you should ask to your brother directly, Harry. It is a tale I wouldn't dare to steal from him." he smiled again this grandfatherly smile he was so good at displaying.

_Well I don't care about anything else._

My thoughts must have transpired on my face, as he frowned very faintly.

"Do you know why Peter Pettigrew was after your brother, Harry?" he asked to me like I was a tad too dense to formulate the queries myself.

"He wanted to avenge his lord, no doubts. The man's fairly powerful, though, I really wonder how did Zach survive the encounter." I tried again, maybe the aged man was old enough to be manipulated that easily.

"Avenging his master, indeed, Harry. Do you fully understand why he needed to?" _I guess he isn't old enough._

"That's what crazy worshippers do when their idol gets killed, there isn't that much to talk about." I answered, hoping he would let me go soon. I really didn't care.

"Ahhh, we're getting close to it, Harry. The death of Voldemort." I raised an eyebrow, he had said the name. I wasn't especially scared of the name, but I rarely heard anyone else than James speak it.  
"Tell me, Harry, would you follow your brother and fight beside him if he was to fight Pettigrew again?" this time his voice was serious, mirthless.

_Is that a trick question? Of course I wouldn't, Pettigrew is too dangerous and I have no reason to give my life for my brother. But the good answer is yes, isn't it._ I wasn't quite sure were the conversation was going, but I wanted it to end.

"With all the love I bear for my brother, sir..." _Ugh, how can I even say that out loud? _"I wouldn't fight beside him, Pettigrew is too dangerous." I concluded.

The headmaster straightened his back and looked at me distantly. He kept smiling, but he was distinctly colder.

"And I cherish my life more than his." I added, just in case he didn't get it right. I wasn't about to discuss half an hour on that.

"Do you blame your brother for the loss of your sister, Harry?" he asked softly. My blood rushed in my head suddenly, boiling hot and pumping fury in my brain. I breathed calmly, not letting the anger control my words.

"I'm aware it wasn't really his fault, sir." I let out, not bothering to lie since I had openly snapped at Zach in this very same room just before. Just as I finished speaking, I felt a blur in my mind. I felt a warmness, a stranger heat wash over my Ice Citadel, something that didn't belong in the cold of space. He was trying to get a look in my mind. I looked away just before his probe got impaled on some spikes and revealed my not-very-subtle Occlumency.

He raised his eyebrows very faintly, almost indistinguishably.

"Sir, I have a bad headache, I think I should go lay down." Having a headache was a good sign of natural Occlumency and would help making it look like I was just very sensible to it and not an Occlumens.

"Very well Harry, if you wish to continue this discussion, I'd recommend you have a heart to heart one with your brother before." He smiled and opened the door with a wave of his hand.

_Not trusting me with Zach's secrets until I clearly side with him, heh? He's not as insane as I thought._

"Good afternoon, Headmaster." I left the office hastily. I wasn't comfortable around a guy who tried to read my mind.

I headed back to the great hall, I still had about an hour to burn. _Zach is getting trained by James since how much time now? I don't even remember. He must be quite good. And he's suspicious of me._ I swore out loud in the corridor, angry. _I can't let him become a threat._

I took a pepper-up phial from my bag and downed it. _Alright, I still an hour to "burn", right? Let's burn it, Potter style._ I grinned, turning the corner and running to the first exit. The pepper-up awoke my body as I ran across the green grass along the lake, to the Forbidden Forest.

I was afraid of Zach, he was becoming strong and I knew he wasn't as dumb as he looked. Many times when we had spoken, I felt his suspicions about me, he knew I was unclear and hiding things, he just didn't know which and to what extent.

Since the very first year in Hogwarts, his friends and him had become famous for unraveling the mysteries of Hogwarts, each year something new.

First, Quirrel trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone, not many people actually knew the true story but I did, and it had been a rather dangerous one. And he had gone through it. He had gone through the trials set in place by the professors themselves and outplayed Voldemort's returning body, along with Quirrel himself.

After that, he had found the Chamber of Secrets, which hadn't been found in fifty years, and slew a motherfucking basilisk with nothing else than a sword.

And now what? He gets attacked by a very powerful Death Eater and win the battle? _Hero of the year, all years._

_What if I become his next adventure? _

_Zachary Potter, episode four: The Evil Twin. _

_What if he unravel the next big mystery: what the fuck is Harry doing?_

It was perhaps crazy to think this way, but I couldn't help it. He was dangerous, his friend Hermione was the smartest witch in Hogwarts since decades, I didn't know what Ron could possibly be good at but I figured there was probably something. _Maybe he's the muscle._

_Whatever, if Zach ends up pointing his wand at me, I'll win._ That was definitive.

I pushed a branch aside and stopped running. I was in a clearing a few miles into the Forest. I could run miles in a few minutes. _I recognize this place..._

It was where I had first started my dark magic try-outs. I looked on my right and found what I was looking for.

An half skeleton remained on the ground, the huge ribcage pointing to the sky. My first kill. I took a few moments to remember the giant boar and how I had killed it. _I wasn't so bad for a first year... I would blast it to pieces with my first spell, now, but still._

I glanced at the time. I still had about a full hour.

I inhaled deeply.

What I was about to do was something I had planned to try much later, I didn't think I could manage it just yet. But it didn't matter anymore, I needed to master it as soon as possible. _I'm better than him._ _I must be._

I gathered my hatred, I molded it, stretched it and increased it, making it macerate in a bubble of dark intent behind my closed eyes, and when I felt it ready to explode, I raised my wand.

"Exsiliunt et metet. Adolebit et devorabit. Ego mutuum..." I muttered in an ominous crescendo, feeling the _incredible _power build up with each syllable, my whole body was boiling, my magic was in turmoil, "..._FIENDFYRE_!" I bellowed, jerking my eyes open and jabbing my wand madly.

A deafening roar echoed in the sky as orange fire leaped from my body, sprouting from my very skin in the direction I was pointing to. The blistering wave took the form of a giant demonic wolf-dog sort of monster and growled a thunderous roar again, trees caught on fire from the sheer heat of the roar as the fire got separated from my body and the beast took a few steps forward.

I was squinting at the living inferno before me, my retina burning from the intensity of the orange flames. It was gigantic, barely smaller than the centuries old trees that were now burning.

Its eyes were staring at me, two holes of the blackest obsidian contrasting with the blazing hell around them, two holes that seemed to suck my soul as they were peering at me.

It was awaiting a command, but it was also trying to command me. I heard it in my heart, in my soul and in my magic.

_'Release me.'_ I almost dropped my control over it, grabbing the invisible leash with all my will, ignoring my own mind and magic that were battling against me. I wanted to release it so hard. The power of the voice washed over me like dragon fire over an ice cube.

'_Set me free._' I couldn't resist anymore, as the beast took a step toward me, scorching the ground with its solid blazing claws sinking in the soft earth. But I knew better than letting it go wild.

"Furor est complevit." I muttered weakly, my wand pointed at it. I had fallen on my knees without noticing it. I pushed all my might inside that incantation and collapsed face first in the dirt while the gigantic demon got blown away by the wind, the hazardous fire vanishing in the wind left nothing behind except a lingering feeling of maliciousness, I could almost feel its eyes still looking at me for a few seconds.

The trees around me were still on fire, but I was safe. I panted madly, more exhausted than ever. My whole body was drained of energy. I used my last forces to roll on my back and take two pepper-up phials from my satchel.

I must had been sweating heavily, my clothes were soaked and my hair was dripping. I was thirsty, very thirsty. _Hungry too. And tired, so tired._

I emptied the two phials and stayed on my back for a while, waiting for the pepper-up to act. The fiendfyre hadn't felt good like regular dark curses. It wasn't really a dark curse, it was just insanely powerful and dangerous.

_Also, there isn't much reasons to cast it other than destroying and killing everything in the area, so yeah. I guess I can see why they call it dark._

I was still miles from controlling it, of that I was now sure. It felt impossible, the authority in its disincarnate voice was simply too great to be denied, and once I'd give up, there would be nothing left of me. _But I'm a Potter, right?_

I chuckled. I was getting better, I sat up and looked at the time. _Forty minutes left, I feel like I cast a hundred advanced spells and ran around the forest ten times._

I cleaned and dried my clothes and hair with a few spells and walked back to the castle, the exhaustion still too great to run.

In retrospect, I found myself stupid for this little stunt. I had clearly lost it for a few minutes, wanting absolutely to prove myself I was better than my brother. I wondered if I was actually going mad somehow, it wasn't the first time I had rushed my decisions stupidly, like a train that didn't see the numerous available tracks and took the one that led into a wall. _This Pettigrew rampage in Knockturn Alley, for instance. How fucking retarded it was to openly attack and kill them... It could have gone wrong in so many ways, and I had so many smarter options..._

I decided to try to control myself better in the future and entered the castle.

* * *

I wrote the last sentence on my notebook and took some time to think about it. It made sense, in a way. Two human sacrifices, a man and a woman. Recreating something the same way it had been created. Almost the same way.

I had been reading the Volume of The Red Manticore for two weeks now, and had almost decrypted the ultimate body fabrication ritual from Yevgeny's notes and the various details given in the book. It contained an incredible number of facts and experiment results, but only one really interested me. How to re-create a flawless body that would be able to host a soul for at least as long as a normal body.

My Necromancer skills had increased greatly since the acquisition of the book two weeks prior, it even helped me finding out a few pieces of the ritual to open the Portal of Horus. The work I was doing with Gregory was advancing quite fast, after discussing it shortly with Zephyros, we now had the bases of the ritual pinned down. We had the geometrics, the incantation and the ingredients. All that was left were the runes and the potions to feed the sacrificed virgin.

I was confident, a lot of runes were scribbled on the half burnt parchment I had gotten from Jagdish.

I had tried a small ritual on a dead rabbit in the forest a few miles away from home and successfully resurrected it. However, like most Necromancy products, it was soulless and moved only thanks to magic.

I exhaled and stretched my arms back. I was almost here. _This ritual will work._ It was a bit difficult to comprehend what Yevgeny meant in his notes, even more when it was written in Cyrillic alphabet and most of it scribbled so badly i had to guess the words, but I was slowly assimilating the knowledge. Thankfully, I was kind of gifted in this field. That's what Zephyros and Gregory had agreed on during our three way meetings.

I closed the forbidden tome and slipped it in my satchel, exchanging it for another I had gotten when I went back to the Cercle Vicieux.

"Control magic that must be controlled." I muttered, reading the title dreamingly. It contained all the tricks and tips on how to master very strong spells like the Demonic Torrent, the Lightning Spear and others.

Of course, I hadn't given up on Fiendfyre, it was the ultimate destruction spell after all. If I managed that, I knew I would have much less trouble with anything else. _Not that you'd need anything else when you can summon Fiendfyre..._

I had also asked Hellard about Elemental Magic before giving him away, since he was a master in the field, but he couldn't help me much in so little time. All he said was that he would bet that I have an affinity with electricity and should look that way. _Weird, I would have said Ice._

But elemental magic wasn't in my schedule, it was one of the hardest branch of magic to learn and wasn't worth it my time and efforts.

I started reading the book avidly, eager to try Fiendfyre a third time. The second time went like the first, I had collapsed, banished the fire before it took over me and almost failed.

After a lengthy introduction, I flipped the pages to the Fiendfyre chapter. A picture showed a wizard ordering around a small dragon made of fire around him. It looked really silly compared to the imposing creature of blazing inferno that had almost reduced me to ashes a few days ago.

**_Controlling the Fiendfyre is one of the most difficult exercise a wizard will encounter. Fiendfyre has an actual personality, as opposed to most of other magic exposed in this book. It's personality is directly linked to the caster's magic, it is a real being that usually has only one wish: destroy. The Fiendfyre will destroy anything it possibly can, if the caster doesn't control it._**

**_The power of the Fiendfyre is not easily dealt with, the beast will command the caster and order him to unleash it. Of course, it is the last thing to do. Do not, under any circumstances, give up. If the caster gives up, the Fiendfyre will destroy everything, the caster included._**

**_How to resist the strength of the fiend's commands? It comes with training, one will have to make it known to the fiery part of their magic that they control it and that it has to obey them. One will have to confront the burning monster and make it bow before them._**

**_When the Fiendfyre accepts the caster as its master, it becomes easier to manipulate, but still wishes to get freedom. Do never lower your guard, even after years of cohabitation with your flaming beast._**

**_The personality of the Fiendfyre should remain the same everytime one cast it, but some wizards have a multi-facet magic power and summon different beasts. To control each one of the facets, those wizards will have to gain the obedience of each fiend._**

**_How to make your beast accept you as its master? There are a lot of different ways to tackle this step:_**

I was drowning in the book, a full page of explanations on how to control my internal inferno followed the small introduction, along with pictures and theories on why it was this way. I grinned widely as I read that mastering mind magic and especially Occlumency or Meditation were highly helpful.

My brain was fervently absorbing each line of text, saving it and understanding it as I read the next. I was eager to try again. While not overly pleasant like dark magic, casting Fiendfyre was somewhat mesmerizing. The sheer _power _I pushed and _fury_ of the thing were sobering and intoxicating at the same time. It felt like the king of the world, like nothing could take me down. Except the damn thing itself, of course.

"That's a weird book, what is it about?" spoke suspiciously a voice behind me. I jumped and snapped the book shut, springing on my feet in half a second. It was Zach, I had been so entranced in the book I hadn't felt the proximity ward break.

"That? Oh, it's just a spellbook." I answered casually, trying to calm my startled nerves and starting to sweat. _Calm the fuck down._

"Lemme see." he stretched his hand forward.

"No. Did you have something to ask me?" I replied coldly.

Suddenly, he whipped his wand to me. It was a secondary wand James had bought so he could train without triggering the Trace.

"I said, give me the book." he ordered quietly, his breathing even. Mine was chaotic, I was practically panting from just standing here. I whipped my own wand to him. He watched it for a moment, his eyes narrowing slowly.

"That isn't your wand."

"I bought a new one, the old one was broken. Now lower your wand, Zach." I commanded in a strong voice. He didn't move.

"I don't think so, Harry, we need to straighten this out. You've acted strange since forever, but since Hogwarts, you're even weirder, darker." he muttered.

"Bullshit, and you know it. Drop the wand or it's gonna get ugly." I snorted.

"Think you can take me on?" he mocked, adopting a stupid superior smirk. He was quite proud of his dad's training.

I didn't answer.

"Give me the damn book, Harry. It's a dark book isn't it?"

I said nothing, he spat on the floor angrily.

"That's it then, _Stupefy!_"

The red bolt of energy flew forward me as I made a circular motion without moving, conjuring a small wooden plank just on the way of his spell. The plank exploded and two major tripping hexes followed the splinters from my wand, along with a silent _Frangerium_, the silent explosion curse. All of them were legal and considered "bright", or at least "grey". What a boring way to fight.

His eyes opened wide at my display of silent magic and he shielded the two apple green hexes, dropping the shield a moment after to retaliate, unaware of the colorless one that was following. The explosion struck him and chucked him into a bush of the backyard, blasting chunks of earth and grass silently everywhere. He had quick reflexes, though, he blocked my incoming silent obliviation curse, thankfully unable to tell what it was, and stood up again.

"Not bad, Harry, you've been training in secret?" he laughed without humor as I sidestepped his two stunner an crouched under his conjured net. I waved my wand in an intricate motion for a second and wordlessly blasted a pressurized jet of water to him. He tried to dodge it but I was aiming at his legs, successfully throwing him on the ground again. I was about to try another obliviation when he shot at me a trio of _Expelliarmus _that grazed me dangerously as I dove to the side. A plethora of curses came to my mind but not a single one would leave him unscathed or even breathing. I vanished another incoming net and shot four light cannonball hexes at him, he dodged three projectiles and blocked one, he then assaulted me again with a thick salvo of stunners and disarmers. I rolled the side and aimed at his knee, shooting an overpowered _Pellifustis_.

The strong striking spell was deflected by a hastily produced shield that cracked and exploded immediately, surprising Zach who probably though his shield was good enough to take anything I'd throw at it. He countered with a few shouted banishers I sidestepped easily. I could have actually run to him and hit him in the guts with my fist at that moment, he wouldn't see me coming with my inhuman speed and strength. But I refrained myself, it wasn't safe, James could be watching, and I wasn't _that _fast without any momentum. Zach could be actually fast enough to stun me at the last second, it was too dangerous to bet on it.

"You don't have any right to look at my books if I don't want you to, Zach! For fuck's sake, just drop it!" I shouted pleadingly.

"You're really good, Harry, how the hell did you get so good?" he was panting heavily, sweating and dripping from the previous shower I had hit him with.

"I'm not good, you're just bad." I mocked, still aiming at him. He shot a glance to the entrance to the house behind the bushes of the vast backyard.

"Don't want to tell, heh? I'm sure dad will be interested in that book of yours." he spat before hurrying back to the house, still pointing his wand at me awkwardly while he reached the glass door.

_Fuck, he's going to tell James._ I slipped the book in my pants and strode to the house. I climbed the stairs as I heard Zach shouting to James in the living room.

"... dark magic spellbook dad! And I dueled him just now, he's almost as good as me, I swear!"

I slapped my door shut and started gathering my stuff in my trunk. Most of it was already inside already. I knew how that would turn out. James was incredibly paranoiac since a year or two ago, considering what happened to Zach, it was not surprising. His number one reason to live was to protect and make a capable hero out of Zach. He was probably already whipping his wand out and climbing the stairs.

"Harry!" resounded his loud voice in the house. _What was I saying?_

My door opened loudly and a furious James burst in the room, wand pointed at me. Mine was already pointed at the door before he had kicked it open. Behind him were Zach and Lily, determined and scared, in that order.

"What do you want?" I asked calmly, I had the situation in hand.

"Zachary told us everything, show us the book."

"What if I refuse?"

His face reddened, his grip around his wand straightened.

"I will ask you to leave this house." he said strongly, ignoring Lily squeaking beside him.

I nodded.

"Understood, I'll live with my girlfriend, don't try to look for me." I backed off from them, still aiming at him and opened my window. He hadn't seen this coming, obviously, he was now staring at me dumbly.

"Wait!"

I jumped off the window, my trunk following me in my dive, and landed on the grass. I pushed magic in my limbs and leaped forward, speeding to my faithful scooter before James could run to the window.

I had to guess he rushed to the window only to see an empty patch of grass under it. I smirked and revved the scooter up. I shrank my trunk and pocketed it.

I could go to London with the magical bus, but I was in no hurry. Spending the rest of the day on my scooter seemed pleasant enough.

_How will Loren react? She'll be happy I'm here that's for sure, but her parents? Hell if they can't take me I'll just lend a room in the Leaky Cauldron._ I needed to spend as little money as I could, I had planned to get myself a Mage Knight armor and the few things that I had found out about the body conceiving ritual were promising it to be expensive.

_And I don't take human sacrifices in account..._

No, the sacrifices would be free.

I knew I should shudder at the very thought but I couldn't find any part of me that found it really cruel or bad. Lily and James would give their life for Natasha, and it was absolutely logical.

So simple, so evident that I wondered why it didn't come to me immediately.

* * *

It had turned out Loren's mother, Darleen, was very happy to help me out and find out about her daughter's first love. Of course she was suspicious at first, when I invented that story of my family going away and explained that I wanted to stay so I could see Loren, but she quickly forgot about it after a few well placed confusion charms. The father was killed during the last war, I already knew that.

Loren, she had been radiant. Me living with her every day for more than a month was the perfect gift for her holidays, as it seemed. However, I hadn't much time for her. I had many things to do, completing the research on the Horus Portal and Body Recreation ritual were paramount, and controlling fiendfyre had become an obsession.

I usually left the Nerys apartment for my second favorite forest, the Dean Forest, around six in the morning when everybody was still sleeping and came back around six in the evening, in time to spend a few hours with Loren and satisfy her needs.

It wasn't going very good, I had been here for a month and she was starting to really have enough of it. Often she would snap at me and demand explanations of where I went, what I did and why she couldn't come with me. It was getting hard to keep her off my back, and at the same time I didn't want to keep her off my back. I truly loved her for what she was, for how she made me laugh and how she laughed with me, for her weird habits and strange conversations. She helped me not to become insane. _Or not too much at the very least._

While the Occlumency lesson had ended since I had bargained Hellard for the Red Manticores, my body still craved darkness. _I sound like an angsty teenager... Oh wait._

I still needed to cast dark magic a few times per week, just to feel good. My headache had diminished but was still present, in the background of my conscience, lurking behind my brain and clouding my thoughts. I was now massively proficient with dark magic of any kind, even silently for most of it. I had experimented a bit with golems again and found that I was not only strong enough to handle them without a sweat but I was also pretty good at summoning them. _Or maybe I'm just super good at rituals_.

Fiendfyre, on the other way, was really hard.

The burning entity wouldn't accept me as its master, even as I was getting used to its power. _My own magic refuses to obey me... admittedly the stronger part of my magic, but still._ So I was doing what the book at recommended, I tried again and again to make it bow with my will. In the outside world, it was nothing more than a staring contest with its pitch-black eyes until I collapsed, but in my psyche, it was a true wrestling match between my immortal self and a storm of demonic fire.

It was probably more dangerous than I realized, even if I realized it. Often I commanded the beast to vanish just before it broke my will, escaping death by a few microseconds. It was even more terrifying when you felt how much power and will you needed to successfully banish it. I felt like I brushed death everytime, surviving only thanks to my refusal to die before the end. _The end? The beginning._

"So, how was it?" asked Loren as I entered her room. She was reading a book.

"How was what?" I replied, jumping in the bed beside her.

"I don't know, you tell me."

I pondered on that for a moment and shrugged.

"It was alright." That wasn't entirely true, while I had successfully stared in the cosmic eyes of my flaming magic for at least ten minutes without fainting or drying to death, I still hadn't won control over it.

She nodded and discarded her book, placing herself in front of me on the bed, on her knees. She looked in my eyes with her two grey moons.

I had started passive Legilimency on her a while ago, she seemed to faintly feel it sometimes but believed it was just her feelings for me that made her feel strange. I tried not to use it exceedingly and only to find out about her and her past. It had started it in a form of training, but recently I found myself using it to appease our relationship, it was easier to deal with her anger when I knew exactly what she was thinking.

However, I wasn't very good at it, despite my natural ability in the field of mind magic. It was an art that took years of constant training to master. They said that for Occlumency too, and I had indeed needed years to master it. _If I dare calling myself a master._

I started reading her surface thoughts but she cut me.

"I thought about it for a while now, and I think I know." she began, playing with her pretty light blue dress on her thigh. She was already fourteen, and it showed.

She had her own growth spurt just a few days after Hogwarts, and while still completely flat on the chest, she was somewhat nice to look at. Not beautiful like Louise, not pretty like Rosaline, but pleasant to look at. She wasn't one to complain about her average-ness and embraced her womanliness like any fourteen years old girl, wearing cute dresses and nice jewelry. _And I embrace her womanliness too..._ I grinned, remembering the wild and passionate moments we had had until now.

I knew she planned to offer me her virginity on my birthday, I didn't need to read her mind to catch the hints she let out.

"What do you mean?" I asked, weary. Her mind was reflecting a serious determination.

She stopped playing with the thin end of the dress and grasped a handful of it, stretching the cloth around her hands.

"Remember the night when I followed you in the Forbidden Forest? I've been thinking about it." she stared in my eyes and spoke seriously.  
"The spell you used that night was definitely not normal. I've looked in a few books for it, but I couldn't find anything that would do what you did."

I tried to speak but she cut me with a wave of her hand.

"No, Harry, I know what I saw; you froze those flaming zebras with a single spell. I didn't know when I saw it but you can't do that to magical creatures that easily. They're way too resistant for that. Also, there is no charm to freeze something like you did, not in Hogwarts' curriculum, not even in seventh year." she spoke strongly, but her voice was slightly shivering. "There are freezing charms, but none of them could do what you did, Harry." she concluded.

"Wait, you-" I planned to tell her something about how I had spread water on them beforehand to freeze them with a standard freezing charm, but she wouldn't let me.

"No, I know you're about to lie, and I don't want to hear it. You want to hear what I think?" she peered into my eyes as I wondered how I would get out of this one.  
"You trained with forbidden magic, Harry. I don't know why or how, but it was forbidden magic, and I think you're still doing it even today." she finished strongly, with the faintest waver in her tone.

I stared at her, unsure on what to do next. _Laugh in her face or act shocked? No. She deserves better._

"I... I love you, Harry. And whatever you're doing since second year, I don't care. I just want you to share it with me." she muttered as she drew closer, crawling on her knees on the bed sheets.

I was confused, I didn't know what to say, what to do. That was the first time she ever openly declared that she loved me, and as the same time she had discovered my secret. _A tiny part of it._ _But a sufficient part to get in trouble nonetheless._ I remembered what I had said myself when I didn't obliviate her after she had caught me in the forest in second year.

_A breach I'm willing to let open..._ She had always been a breach after all. She could have found me out way sooner if she had really wanted to.

"Why can't we go on like before? Why do you need to know?" I muttered darkly, as she took my hands in hers. I was thoroughly lost, torn between my options. _Lie to her and limit the damage? Tell her everything? Dump her and never look back?_

"Because I can't do it anymore; I need to help you, to be here for you... we can't keep on going like that - I can't." she squeaked softly, tears began to form in her eyes.

I hugged her tightly, breathing her sweet scent as her warm body shuddered in my arms. I fell in love, again. For Loren, again. I gave in.

Without releasing my grip around her, I told her everything. I told her about Natasha, how she lived, how she died. I started sobbing as I told her the sad story of her life - and consequently mine, realizing only now how crazy and desperate I had been since the start, opening the floodgate that had blocked my emotions. All the tears and sorrow I had bottled up over the years went out in a single flow, I was sober again for the first time in three years, hugging her tighter than ever as she herself wept massively.

_It's one hell of a pathetic story, in retrospect._ _Why couldn't I just deal with it like everyone else? Why did I need to go batshit insane and dive in dark magic nonsense with all my being? _

We stayed in her bed for a while after I had explained her my purpose, my only aim. To bring Natasha back, at any cost.

She wiped her eyes softly and looked at me with a slight shiver.

"So you're a dark wizard, heh?" she finally uttered with a fake chuckle, visibly shaken by my revelation. I hadn't told her who exactly but at some point I had told her that I had killed, it was too relieving to stop. I had confessed all my sins to her.

I nodded, not bothering to try to find excuses. There weren't any, really. _I made choices, and I stick to them. There isn't anybody else to blame, there are no excuses, but I don't need any._

"I... I don't know, Harry. I can't just accept that so easily..." she sobbed a bit more. "You've killed."

It had been said in a whisper, but I could hear the fear into it. My mind clearer than ever, I took the comment in and accepted it. _Yes, I've killed. It's too late to stop now. I wouldn't stop anyway._ I darkened my tone.

"And I plan to keep going, whatever the difficulties I will face. I won't stop, Loren, not until my sister's back."

She looked at me with a mix of fear and sadness in her wet eyes. She nodded.

"I... I won't tell anybody, Harry. I'll always be on your side." she whispered, successfully locking her eyes on me without trembling.

She wouldn't tell anybody. I knew it. She loved me, I loved her. I knew I could trust her and I wanted to trust her. She would share my secret and keep it secret.

I slipped out of the bed and stood up.

_This is the best thing to do. I will regret it, but this is the best thing to do._

"I love you, Loren." I turned to her and pointed my wand to her. She didn't look surprised at all, she only sobbed once before I spoke again.

"Obliviate."

* * *

**_AN: Nothing much to say, keep reviewing, bring me more readers if you can, thank you._**


	11. Chapter 11

**_Don't own it. Maybe Rowling does, ask her._**

* * *

**.**

**Too Young to Die.**

**.**

**Chapter 11.**

**.**

* * *

The next time I saw Loren Nerys was right in the middle of King's Cross.

It was now time to attend my fourth term at Hogwarts, I saw her kissing goodbye to her mother as I entered the Express. A white-hot needle stabbed my heart at the sight of her - how happy and careless she was, spinning in her dress and laughing heartily as she trotted gracefully to the train.

She probably still had headaches sometimes but she would be okay after a few months. I watched her impassively and sighed. _Maybe in another life, sweetheart._

I had erased almost everything about me in her and her mother's mind. Her love for me, our first conversation, her discoveries about me, everything that was linked to me and her affection to me; I only left the general knowledge that we dated and kissed a few times in public, so she wouldn't freak out when people mention a relationship between us.

_I can't afford to have any flaws. _I thought bitterly.

I knew it was true, I really couldn't afford to have a weakness such as Loren, now less than ever. James and Zach were onto me, and I still had a lot to do. There wasn't any place for Loren in my life. I couldn't afford her.

I had perfected the obliviation, making sure to not wreck her mind and trying to leave facts about me to make it believable.

I knew it was the worst way of obliviating someone; erasing almost a year worth of selected memories and deleting an entire person from someone's mind was stupid, really stupid. But I had to give her up. I wasn't good enough to keep the good memories and delete only the memories of her doubts and suspicions - even if I was, I couldn't do that to her. So I had erased everything.

_She'll be fine. She still knows who I am and all, she just don't feel the same about me anymore._ I swallowed a regretful tear and sat down in the compartment. _I'll just Imperius the others and force them to shut the hell up if they pester her too much about that. Especially Louise. _I had started using the _Imperius_ curse three weeks before, the book on control said it was a good way to get a taste of how you need to will your Fiendfyre to bow.

It wasn't difficult to use, just sort of hard to hide. If you just slammed your will in their skull, the victims acted like inferi, and commanding them to "act normal" wasn't working. To prevent this from happening, you had to overpower them without silencing them and taint their will with yours, forcing them to do what you want without them noticing it, like a poisonous confident who would whisper veiled orders in their ear. That was a perfect _Imperius_, but the weirder are your orders, the easier it is for them to snap out of it.

_Commending fourteen years old to not harass Loren should be easy enough._

From now on, I would dedicate my whole attention to my work. I had a lot of things to do this year. _No more girlfriend, no more card games, no more wasted week-ends._

I had an arsenal of spell to help me being alone, Notice-Me-Not Charm, Imperius Curse, Proximity and Repulsion Wards, even Disillusionment Charm if I needed to. I had given up on Loren, the last thing that kept me to some extent focused on my social relationships, and it was for the best.

I sat down and opened a book on the different theories about the link between magic and its owner, hoping to find something to help me with my problems.

The door slid open. I raised my head and glared at the trespasser. Zachary.

"Here you are. What are you reading this time? How to cast the _Avada Kedavra_?" he narrowed his eyes at me. My wand was pointed on him, my hand lowered.

"I have nothing to say to you, get out."

"I don't know what game you're playing but I won't let you have it your way. I just came here to warn you a last time. Talk to me and I'm ready to close my eyes on the bad decisions you took." he said in an almost brotherly tone, his eyes fixed on mines.

"Get fucked in the hole." I retorted, not without a faint smile.

He spat on the floor and turned around.  
"I'll figure out what's wrong with you, and when I'll do, you'll regret you didn't talk to me." he threatened before slamming the door shut.

I snorted in the silence and locked the door with a medium locking charm, checking out a sixth year's fine ass as I did so. I was fourteen and positively full of hormones, since a few months already I had the typical sexual appetite of a teenage boy, but Loren had been here to appease me. I shook my head and sat down again. _I won't have time for any of that, this year._

An hour later, someone knocked on my door. It was Louise. She was looking damn fine, as I had expected her to look. I sighed and opened.

"Hello, Louise, what do you want?" I asked in a bored voice.

"Still not riding the Express with Loren, heh? I thought you two became quite close last year..." she asked innocently while she stepped in my compartment. It was unusual to have a full compartment for oneself but I was some kind of an unusual kid.

"I'm not with Loren anymore." I stated calmly. It had to be clear. Louise grinned widely.

"I knew it! She's acting all weird and pretend to not care about you. Got tired of the breadboard already, dear Harry?" she mocked playfully with a laugh.  
"Just kidding, she's sweet and all but you really deserve better."

"We didn't break up because of her chest, Louise, for fuck's sake what's up with you and your obsession over tits?" I barked, dropping on the seat.

She giggled madly, a naughty twinkle in her eyes.

"Don't you like my boobs, Harry?" She grabbed her now well-grown breasts and squeezed them. "I'd let you touch them if you ask nicely..." she giggled some more.

I couldn't deny I wanted to, but I had more important things to do. Namely reading my book and then a huge tome on theories about Portal Rituals that I had found in an old dusty library all the way down the 9th layer of Knockturn Alley.

"Sounds really cool, Louise, but I have other plans. _Imperio_." I jabbed my wand to her, her eyes widened comically and the curse connected, right above the breasts she was still fondling.

_Do not bother Loren with Harry. Ever._ I pushed the order in her mind and lowered my wand. She blinked a bit and smiled, the incident was already forgotten, I imperiused enough muggles to know how one reacted to it, and Louise was no better than a muggle at this point.

The curse would take a small amount of my focus to stay on, but I knew how to handle it. And Louise wasn't nearly perceptive enough to notice it nor powerful to break it.

I opened the door.

"Thank you, Louise, now let me alone." she quickly frowned, obviously not remembering where the conversation had ended and shrugged.

"See you later, then." She left the compartment and I locked the door again.

_She'd be a lot harder to resist to if she actually played with her natural innocent look instead of that whorish behavior._ I mused, sitting down and patting the insides of my satchel to find my book.

_She was probably the only one likely to annoy Loren with that, the other will just stay silent and roll with it._

I banished the thoughts from my mind as I dived into a fresh book.

* * *

I took a seat next to Rosaline the most silently I could manage, the great hall was silent.

"Did I miss anything?" I whispered to my neighbor. She shook her head.

Dumbledore was standing in front of the six tables of the great hall, waiting patiently for the wooden goblet placed at chest level on a podium to finish whatever ancient sorcery it was performing. The thing was really archaic, its magic was probably unfathomable for the wizards of our time.

The torches had been killed to let the hall bath in a half-darkness illuminated mainly by the starlight of the ceiling and the dancing red fire in the cup.

The fire suddenly spat out a piece of paper, high in the air. Dumbledore snatched it and opened his mouth.

"The champion of the Durmstrang Institute is Viktor Krum." he articulated clearly, his loud voice booming in the hall. The additional table next to the Slytherins' roared and cheered madly, whistles and clapping hurting my ears now acquainted with sweet silence.

"Mr. Krum, the door behind me if you please." continued the Headmaster with a genuine smile.

Krum rose up from the Durmstrang group and strode to the door without any sign to his crowd, a grumpy look plastered on his already peculiar face. The crowd continued roaring, girls squeaked louder than anybody could possibly squeak, and he finally reached the door.

Dumbledore made silence in the room again with a simple motion of his hand.

Moments later, the chalice spat another piece of parchment, which got caught by Dumbledore the same way as the first.

"The champion of the Beauxbatons Academy is Fleur Delacour."

Cheers and clapping again, the intoxicating witch opened her arms wide and flashed a bright smile to her admirers - about all the masculine population of the room. _Except me, maybe._ I didn't trust a veela, even a half-breed one. I knew it wasn't a good idea and her weak aura never had a chance to set foot in my Ice Castle if I decided to close the doors.

She reached the Champion's room and another paper sprouted.

"The champion of the Hogwarts School is Cedric Diggory."

I almost forgot to cheer, as I couldn't force myself to care about this stupid tournament since they had announced it, but the group effect caught me. I clapped and whistled with everyone else at the Hufflepuff table and slapped him in the back as he walked past me, flashing me a happy grin. I liked Diggory, he was truly a good guy. _How many Quidditch practice did I miss? And he barely got pissed off at me._ I chuckled in the cacophony, he probably didn't say anything because I was by far the best player, but still, a chill dude.

He waved around and walked to the door.

"Brilliant!" exclaimed Dumbledore in the slowly returning calm, he clapped his hands happily.  
"Now, the three champions have been selected for the Tournament. I am certain they will perform amazingly and make their peers proud of the school they belong to. Let it be known that each one of -"

He stopped his post-ceremony speech to stare at the cup like everybody else. The flames had started dancing again, spitting sparks around, and suddenly, it vomited another piece of parchment.

With a now well-honed motion, Dumbledore snapped it out of the air and stared at the square in his hand, apparently as baffled by the unexpected event as the rest of us. _Well not me, did I mention I don't care at all?_

He frowned slightly, and rose his head to the soundless audience.

"Zachary Potter."

_Now that is interesting._ I thought while the hall started humming ominously, its occupants starting to register what they had heard.

I stood up like everybody else to get a better look at Zachary, genuinely curious at what he was thinking. I knew he wasn't good enough for the tournament, I knew even I wasn't good enough for it. It was a really brutal and dangerous tournament, many young wizards and witch had perished for the promised fame and glory. _Well, I'd probably survive it, but not without massive use of questionable magic._

He stood up and walked to the professor's platform, his face blank. Half way to it, he stopped suddenly and spun around. He searched for a few seconds, his eyes furiously analyzing the crowd before locking on me.

"You did it!" he roared madly, whipping his wand at me. I fumbled in my pocket to find mine, if only to defend myself.

_Oh yeah, Zach, do it. Right here, right now, lose your shit and send a curse, I dare you. _I teased him with my eyes, displaying a perfect face of incomprehension.

"You fucking did it, didn't you?" he continued as people around me gasped and made room for the upcoming duel.

"I didn't do crap, hold your horses." I spoke calmly, I had the upper hand in this conversation, and everybody was watching.

"Now, now, we will get to bottom of that in a moment, but not here." said Dumbledore, walking to Zachary and seizing him by the shoulders.  
"In the room, Zachary." he then looked at me. "You too, Harry."

"I seriously didn't do anything, headmaster." I replied, pocketing my wand.

"I don't doubt it but your brother seems to be persuaded otherwise." he didn't smile, his voice was more grave than ever. He waved to the door.

I sighed and walked to it. _What the hell has Zach done this time..._

Behind the door was a charming little room with armchairs and a massive fireplace. I scanned it, the French half-veela or whatever she was was standing up, her hands on her hips like stopped right in the middle of giving a lecture, and the ugly and bulky Bulgarian was by the window, watching outside. Cedric was in a chair, looking at me questioningly, and Zach was standing in front of me, his wand drawn.

"Why did you do that, Harry? Do you want to get me killed? Are you _that_ evil?" he barked with a madness soaked voice, making me question his mental health for the first time.

As he drew closer and nearly touched my forehead with his wand, I snorted and slapped it away with a fast motion, sending it smash against the wall and clatter on the stone floor.

"I told you I didn't, you stupid cunt." I snapped irately. I really hated being pointed at with a wand, especially by an unstable fool.

I wanted to insult him some more, spit a bit of my hate in his face, but the door cut me by swinging open, revealing a cortege of old wizards, led by the oldest of all, Dumbledore.

Behind him were the two other headmasters, one was an obviously Russian old pureblood wizard and the other was some sort of half giant old woman. Along with the group were the two official Ministry blokes who had organized this whole tournament.

They instantaneously started yelling at each other, making a point to ignore the rest of us. I turned around and headed to the door, not having any business with this mess.

"Professor Dumbledore, Harry's escaping!" yelled Zach.

I rolled my eyes. _Escaping? Jesus Christ Zach, could you get more childish?_

"Mr. Potter please stay with us, we might need your testimony." tried Dumbledore. I raised an eyebrow.

"I have no idea of what happened and neither of why I am here."

"He lies! He was the one who added my name, professor! We fought this summer, he's a dark wizard!" ranted Zach, earning only skeptical looks from the adults in the room.

Dumbledore, on the other hand, took it quite seriously.

"Harry, do you have any doing in this?"

I gaped at him, making a show of the stupidity of the question.  
"Sir, my brother is obviously perturbed, I have _nothing_ to do with all of this." The others nodded. I decided to have a bit of a revenge. "I think he's only trying to find a convenient scapegoat." I refrained the grin that menaced to spread on my fake concerned face.

"It eez obviouss, ze little kid iz trying to find a scapegoat." agreed the charismatic veela, her hands still on her hips. Everyone seemed to agree with that.

Dumbledore, on the other hand, needed more than logic to believe it. He leaped in my eyes, injecting his magic in my psyche. I broke eye contact just as he slammed in my fortress, wincing painfully. He brought a hand to his forehand and glared at me. _Damn, he's not suspicious anymore, he's already thinking about how to corner me._ He would probably have found a hole to pour his magic in my stronghold, he was experienced and powerful enough. But in a small time window like that, he only had time to try blindly. _Too bad, there are spikes everywhere in there. Watch your step, old man._

"Would you testify under Veritaserum?" he asked, scanning me with his almighty eyes.

I was trying to look like I had no idea of what happened, but I couldn't erase his suspicions. Not even with an obliviation curse, not a wizard of this range.

"This is madness, Albus, the boy is obviously trying to blame his brother to escape responsibility." claimed Snape, who I hadn't noticed until now.

"You can't be serious, Dumbledore!" shouted Karkaroff, spluttering like a rabid dog.

I shrugged, this could be a good way to make Zach look like a fool and drop the whole suspicion thing at once.

"Sure, I agree."

"Severus, a phial of Veritaserum, please."

Snape glared at him and walked off. The rest of the group started mocking Dumbledore and his idiotic trust in Zach, who was glaring at me with a lot less confidence than he did before. _Probably considering the possibility of my innocence only now._ I smirked right in his face. _Yep, you fucked up._

After a few minutes I spent staring by the window and not listening the various insults and heated arguments that were flying in the room, Snape came back with a phial of Veritaserum and dipped three drops in a water glass.

I downed the glass and waited, feeling an odd euphoria enter my bloodstream. Not unlike dark magic, the potion plunged me in a cloud of bliss and indifference.

_Is your name Harry Potter?_

Who had asked that? Dumbledore, right, I was under Veritaserum. And he was questioning... questioning who?

Me. Right, me.

"My name is Harry James Potter." I corrected, not particularly caring about my middle name, but it was still important to say things properly, wasn't it?

I could see their faces, I could see very clearly actually, but my mind was immersed a white fog, a blinding fog.

_Have you in any way nominated or helped to nominate Zachary Potter, your twin brother, for the Triwizard Tournament?_

No, definitely not. And I was damn proud of that.

"Absolutely not." I stated clearly. Dumbledore straightened up and nodded, the other just rolled their eyes and complained loudly about the loss of time it had been.

_Are you a dark wizard?_

Zachary had suddenly blurted out the question, glaring at me intently.

I was. No doubt about that. I opened my mouth to answer, but stopped just before the first sound came out.

I didn't want to answer that. I was staring at the question through the monochrome stained glass window of my mind's bastion, sitting in the chill throne of the main hall.

No, I wouldn't answer that.

A sudden pain lanced through my brain, so hot and abrupt that tears immediately found their way to my eyes just before I winced. I needed to answer the truth, the pain was gradually increasing. My arms were shaking, my head was hotter than fiendfyre, I could feel the blood rushing to it.

I needed to answer. But I didn't want to. Zachary was still in front of me, Snape was stretching a glass to me but I ignored it. I wanted the pain to stop.

No sound escaped my gaping mouth, I sprang on my feet and _punched _Zachary in the face, feeling his nose break along with his glasses before he was tossed back like a stringless puppet. He was the source of my pain.

However, the pain didn't end. It was worse than ever. Snape grabbed my head and forced me to drink from the glass. The fog cleared. I blinked a few time and observed the astonished faces around me.

_Fuck_.

Zach was bleeding and positively knocked out, currently running in the green meadows of his mind and tossing flowers to the fairies of dreams. I was in a much less pleasant predicament.

"Strong will, these Potters. You gotta see it to believe it." affirmed Karkaroff helpfully. I saw an exit.

"I... I'm sorry, I really didn't want to answer to Zach after how he treated me. My own twin thinking so badly of me!" I tried, displaying a perfect apologetic but angry face.

Dumbledore was dubious, as was Snape. The others were just plain amazed.

Karkaroff helped me a second time.  
"Let us not digress any longer! I refuse to accept two champions for Hogwarts, I absolutely _refuse _it!" he bellowed, attracting everyone's attention on the main topic again.

"You may leave, Harry." Dumbledore discarded me quickly to focus on the argument.

I left the room and walked to my dormitory, the great hall was empty.

While I was crossing numerous corridors and passageways, I wondered how much I was in trouble. _Probably in a lot of trouble. Dumbledore felt my Occlumency, and right after that the Veritaserum slip happened. If he wasn't suspicious of me, he now is._

It wasn't illegal to know Occlumency or to act weird during a Veritaserum inquisition, in fact, the latter was not that surprising, every person reacted differently to the thing. But I knew it would raise a lot of questions, especially because of the question itself. _Are you a dark wizard? _I swore loudly in the open air archway I was going through.

_Fucking hell, Zach, I'll fucking kill you one of these days, for real._

* * *

"A hundred pounds of Adamantine, fifteen thousand galleons. A thousand pounds of goblin steel, two thousand and four hundred galleons."

The goblin snapped his finger and the bunch of thick steel plates dropped on the floor, making the floor shake. Except it wasn't really a floor, we were on the roof of Gringotts' Materials Merchant branch.

I tossed the goblin a money purse and walked around the heap of raw metal. This was making a huge dent in my budget. Mage Knight armors were not to buy, they were burned with their owners when they died. Only a few very rare pieces had been conserved after the death of a Mage Knight, but they were way too expensive. I could have gotten the goblins to make one for me, but once again, it would have been too expensive.

Crudehammer nodded greedily after having checked the content of the purse and bowed.

"Please come again, Mr. Horus."

I nodded and cast a lightweight charm on the thousand pounds of steel I was about to drag with my broom. The adamantine, on the other hand, would have to be dragged as the hundred pounds it was. No magic could temper adamantine in any way, only good old fire and brute force. The goblin had delivered it as a massive and solid black cylinder. It was meant to be melted down.

I stuffed the shrunk and lightweight charmed steel in a conjured suit case and glued it to my broom. I sighed one last time. There was literally no way to temper with adamantine, you couldn't even apparate or portkey it, not such a dense piece. I had to do this by broom.

I peered in the moonless night, and mounted my Nimbus. Pushing magic in all my muscles, I grabbed the massive roll of metal and positioned it on my back, holding it with my left hand. My iron bones and overpowered back muscles would survive. _If it rolls and fall down, I won't be able to catch it, though._

The take off was difficult, my Nimbus swayed dangerously, adapting its power output according to the weight on it. I made a diagonal line to the dark clouds, even in the black night I wasn't carefree enough to fly in the open. I had chosen this night because of the absence of moonlight and didn't regret it.

The flight was peaceful, I was above the clouds and shivering slightly at the freezing wind, but I was going fast, very fast. I would reach the Forbidden Forest only in three hours or so. The increased weight allowed me to get speed rushes anytime I dove to get a glance of the country under the clouds. My charmed robes had a hard time countering the chill of the night and the moist of the clouds, I was soon dampened and as cold as my inner cathedral.

As I sped across the sky, I thought about my situation in Hogwarts. Zach had briefly apologized for his behavior but it was mainly because Dumbledore had told him to. He didn't believe in my innocence at all and was now one hundred percent sure I was a dark wizard. He threatened me and warned me once again, but I knew it was baseless. He had too much to deal with, being a champion in the tournament.

The final decision was that since Hogwarts had two participants, the two other schools would have two participants too. They had chosen themselves their secondary Champion and the tasks would be changed to fit the new organization.

Why didn't Zach just refuse? I was sure he just couldn't pass on such an opportunity to show off, but it may have had something to do with the magical contract between the Goblet of Fire and the champions.

_But he'll order his dogs to sniff around for me, to track me and monitor me. _I had no doubt he wouldn't drop his investigation on me. _Can Zachary Potter handle two mysteries in one year?_

Sadly, Dumbledore was siding with him and was suspicious of me too. I had learned it with a bit of Legilimency on Trix Eveleen, the Hufflepuff prefect. Dumbledore had asked her and Diggory to keep an eye on me and bring him a weekly report on my actions. While neither Trix or Cedric believed I was guilty of anything, they dutifully accepted the task.

I suspected Dumbledore to have asked my head of house Sprout to tell him about my absences and detentions too, I'd have to be careful.

I eventually distinguished the huge shadow I was looking for on the ground, hundreds of yards below me. The Forbidden Forest. I dove inside it and landed clumsily in a small clearing, dropping the heavy burden from my back. The weight fell on the soft earth with a loud thump, shaking the area. I stretched my back and felt my bones ease up.

Around me had gathered five black unicorns, glaring at me angrily. Black unicorns, also called tainted or demonic unicorns were nothing more that unicorns that fell in the traps of fairies and were changed by their twisted games. Some fairies were downright evil. Those unicorns were dangerous, their red eyes gleaming with wickedness and their hoofs rasping the dust hungrily.

"Pshhh, get away you kids!" I shouted amusedly.

I sent a vicious _Aleraeno Vultimacum_, hitting the first tainted equidae as it tried to jump out of the way. The skin shredding curse was really fast. It neighed brutally as its dark fur wiggled madly, shifting and shivering as the skin under it started to hurt, tearing itself apart from the flesh. Surely enough, strips of epidermis detached themselves from the red meat and the unicorn thrashed on the ground. The others took this as their cue to leave and vanished in the trees.

The exquisite pain of the animal filled me, I countered the curse and let the bleeding beast gallop away.

_Now... where I am and where is my cave?_ I had found a nice cave to forge my armor, secluded but accessible quickly and in a rather quiet part of the forest, where few things ever wandered. Most were scared of the resident Komodo dragon, a thick and angry beast who had drank in the magical stream up the mountain for too long, mutating in a powerful monster. At least that's how I would explain it. I wasn't scared of it though, it had immediately bowed before me, as a mark of its respect for me. It had sensed my power and agreed to sign a peace treaty.

I knew the forepart of the forest well enough, after a few minutes of running around, I found my way to the cave, lifting the heavy material with me.

I dumped it in the cavern, along with the suitcase of goblin steel. The adamantine was the last part of my plated armor, just a layer of magic resistant metal on the external side of the suit would offer me a protection no enchanted leather suit could ever hope to offer.

I undid the shrinking and lightweight charms on the goblin steel and levitated the plates one on another.

The first step was to shape the plates, bend them and cut them as I please, to make my armor. Pauldrons, helm, gauntlets, I would craft each part of my Mage Knight Armor, with steel and magic.

After that, I would carve runes and lines on the internal part of the plates. The one that would be in direct contact with me, with my magic. The symbols and veins I'd carve in the steel would permit my magic to be channeled through the armor and make it move it like it's my own body, to make it answer my thoughts directly. _Be one with your armor._

Once that done, I'd imbue it at the goblin's workshop to give it a little extra something and finally coat it with a hundred pounds of adamantine, making it totally magic-proof. Goblin steel was already quite resistant to magic, but nothing nearly like adamantine.

I levitated the first plate and placed it on the flat surface I had cleared on the rocky floor.

_Well, I guess I have to start somewhere._ I set the tip of my wand on the steel.

"Gol'brosn'is."

The piece of metal started to fizzle gently and the ambient temperature rose, the air became hotter and hotter and soon, the steel around my wand started to glow a faint orange. The goblin spell had been engineered by the goblins themselves to work on their metal, and leaked to wizards by a chain of events that lead to the great revolution of the goblin industry in 1851.

The steel was now bright orange, the whole plate was whistling and fizzling dangerously, ready to be shaped.

I focused on the shape I wanted it to take, a pauldron. Thick and large, with cutting edges and a lightly curved to the top form. The metal began shifting as the magic manipulated it, slowly bending and thickening, the plate crushed itself in a smaller piece. I kept visualizing every details of the final product, while correcting as it went, willing the metal to bend the other way, to thicken or to soften at some part.

Ten minutes had already passed and I was sweating heavily, the pauldron still not done. It was starting to take shape, my wand was still against it, my knuckles went white a long time ago.

Every layer of half-molten metal that spread itself around the shape I was molding the steel into took a blow at my endurance, eventually drawing heavy breaths out of me as I started to feel the exhaustion.

About four hours of toil was what it took me to shape correctly my first piece. I had to restart a couple times to be sure to have the shape I wanted, and in the end it was perfect. _I think I can do the second pauldron in less than two hours._

The shape in itself was important because the armor would have to marry my own shape perfectly. My shoulder would have to perfectly be encased in the pauldron, without hurting or leaving a void.

_A second skin. _

The external part could look like anything, that didn't matter much. _But_ _I don't want to look like an amateur, do I?_

The general look of one's armor could change the tides of a battle. Loren had once told me about this guy who had sort of messed up his helm and looked stupid when he put it on. Long story short, the guy got attacked by a group of brave wizards because they thought he was some idiot who wouldn't have a chance against them, and they were right.

They had killed him and overthrown the lord he was working for, the moral was that if he had been looking scarier, they probably wouldn't have dared to attack. _God I miss Loren._

I had taken this memory as a personal advice from Loren and intended to honor her by following it. _At least by making the armor symmetrical._

I was panting, I slumped on the cavern floor and blasted chill air everywhere in the place to get rid of the steam. A massive cloud of steam had spawned when I had plunged the finished craft in a tank of conjured water. _Conjured water..._

I waved my wand, canceling my conjuration. The steam disappeared, leaving behind it only the heat. Warm and tired, I slowly closed my eyes and drifted in unconsciousness.

I woke up to my watch vibrating, my eyes opening suddenly. As I was rubbing them, I pondered on what was going on.

_My watch woke me up, that means it's seven in the morning. I was doing some forging, I am currently in the cave, fifteen minutes from the dormitory. No time to lose._

I gathered my things and shot a last glance at the stack of metal, just to make sure everything was alright. I sped through the forest, leaping and jumping over obstacles, racing around trees and drifting on slopes, and reached the castle, charming myself clean and fresh as I pushed a door to the first floor.

I entered the great hall and sat down at my new favorite place, where I couldn't see Loren.

"Good morning Harry, ready to roll?" Priscillia flashed me a bright grin and sat beside me.

"What do you mean?" I bit in a toast avidly. The night had been beyond exhausting.

She rolled her eyes. She was cute, for a beater.

"Oh for goodness' sake, Harry!" she whined. "First match of the season? Diggory not captain, I captain. Match today. You have brain, right?" she mocked.

"Ohhh, right." I remembered the last practice session we had. Diggory explaining that he wouldn't play anymore because of the tournament and nominated the sixth year beater Priscillia as the new captain.  
"With all that tournament thing going around, I doubt anyone's gonna care much for quidditch." I bit another piece of bread nonchalantly.

"Well I do care, so please do your best? please?" she asked playfully, putting her hand on my arm and pulling for an answer.

"Alright, but only because it's you." I was in the mood to play. I was always in the mood to play, dark magic did that. _Maybe just to me..._

"Yay!" she squeaked and kissed me on the cheek before turning to her plate. She then proceeded to take a massive amount of potato gratin.

"I hope you have better than a kiss on the cheek for me if we win." I joked. She giggled and blushed slightly.

"Well, make sure to win and you'll get to know." she added playfully but still blushing. _Cute._

I couldn't help but flirt, the girls were all squeaky and frisky around me. I knew I looked quite good, different from what the aging potion had showed me, but still somewhat handsome. I had kept my noble and square features, but even I could see in the mirror, even I could sense that there was _something_ about me.

I guessed it was the rituals. Or the dark magic. Or the insanity. _Oh come on, I'm totally sane. Saner than a year ago_. I chuckled out loud.

_If we agree Imperiusing Smith to make him slap Nolwenn on the ass was sane. Funny, no doubt, but sane? Who is "we" anyway?_

"Harry you're making that spooky face again."

I shook my head and continued eating.

After a complete breakfast, I headed to the locker room with Priscillia and Howell, the match was planned for eight o'clock.

"Who are we playing against?" The whole team groaned loudly at my lack of concern and Priscillia let an irritated whine out.

"Ravenclaw! How many times do I have to tell you, Harry!"

_You didn't tell me shit! Or maybe you did, I don't remember. _I swallowed my words and stayed silent.

She let her angry glare hover on me for a while and turned to the now ready team. "Alright, like Harry -" she shot me a teasing glare, "- has reminded us, we're playing against Ravenclaw. So what's our strong points against them?"

She was taking her new role seriously, it seemed.

"Our attack?" tried the new seeker, a second year going by the name of Esmund Aengus.

"Right! Our attack is the strongest of the school, with Harry doing mad stunts and Diggory's tactics, we dominate the scene. Now what's our weak point against them?"

"Cho Chang!" I said, raising my hand excitedly like a kid in elementary school. Cho Chang was Ravenclaw's seeker, and she was damn good. _Damn good, indeed. _I had caught her peering at me a couple times last year, and I had to admit I wouldn't mind getting to know her better.

"Exactly, their seeker is experienced and very good at what she does. Our seeker has never played a live match." she explained to everyone.  
"We have to put pressure on her, Kyle and me will send all the bludgers we can on her, and you guys score as much point as possible. Go fast, go strong." she finished her speech with a helpful visual representation, punching her hand with her fist.

I was looking at her dreamingly, my fourteen years old body secreting all kind of pleasant things in my cortex. She was the sportive type, of course, thin and a bit muscular, half-long blonde hair tied in a small ponytail, her quidditch robes were tight around her, giving her an even more boyish figure than usual. Funny thing that the only sportive girl in Hufflepuff turned out to grow one of the tiniest cleavage of the sixth years. _It's like her body decided to grow for Quidditch... a pity she plays beater, with that physique she could be a nice chaser or seeker._ I mused, my eyes lost in her cute face. _A really cute one, with that. _I watched her lips move as she spoke again. _That mouth looks so wet and warm, so soft and tasty..._

"Harry!" she yelled, tearing my world apart. I jumped slightly.

"Yeah, what?" I blurted out, surprised and unprepared. I looked around me, everybody was already out.

"The game is starting, follow the group!" she indicated me the door. "Were you even listening just now? You were just staring at me dumbly." she scolded as we entered the pitch. It was sunny and hot, the audience was full, people were already cheering and jeering, waves of smells came to me from the seats, snacks and candies.

"I'm sorry, I was just thinking how gorgeous you were." I apologized shamelessly. "Not my fault, I'm fourteen years old!" I shrugged and mounted my broom, knowing that she wouldn't have any answer worth hearing to that.

The match lasted a bit more than an hour, Ravenclaw got the snitch and won by twenty points. I had scored my share of points and successfully denied the snitch catch to Cho with my inhuman vision and reflexes. The Nimbus helped quite a lot too. Four times I had raced to the snitch and made it flee away as Cho was reaching for it, earning mischievous glares from the Asian witch, who was definitely loving our rivalry and chasing game. _She looked more pissed than playful at the fourth time, though. _

She had however ended up catching it, and glowed with pride as she searched the pitch for me to rub it in my face. I shrugged as I flew past her.

"I figured the match wouldn't end if I didn't let you catch it." I quipped as she followed me down. Once on the sandy floor, she dismounted her broom and jogged to me, radiant.

"Sure, your broom is totally not smoking." she laughed.

"No it's not. Watch out for your fan club." I pointed behind her, the whole Ravenclaw team and spectators were rushing to her. I chuckled and walked away as she turned to me again. While her housemates cheered and hugged her, I saluted her and she threw an annoyed glare to me.

_Flirting doesn't make me lose any time at all. As long as I don't cancel my projects for it..._ I reasoned. I just couldn't spend the year not flirting, not with that many sexy witches around me. _That wouldn't be sane._

The team entered the locker morose and beaten, Priscillia made a disappointed speech and sent us to change. When I came out of the shower booth, Priscillia was sitting on the central bench, her face in her hands, still not cleaned or changed. The rest of the team was already gone, I was always the last in the shower. It was one of my simple little pleasures to stay under the water and think for a while. I used my shower times to check my internal fortress and reorganize my thoughts.

I sat beside her on the bench. My appointment was only in two hours and I didn't want to do anything before anyway. I had arranged Apparition lessons in Knockturn Alley for a small price of twenty galleons per lesson.

"Don't want to shower? I know it sucks, but we live in a society where being dirty doesn't do well. I'm sorry." I joked, sliding my arm around her shoulders and sighing.  
"One of these days, we will stop showering, we will be free..." I waved my hand in the air dreamingly. She chuckled faintly and looked up to me.

"You know we didn't lose a match in the last eighteen months."

I frowned. _Really? I'm that good?  
_"So that's it? We lost a match and you fall in despair?" I laughed."Priss, I thought better of you."

"I'm not falling in despair... it's just that Diggory led our team to the top and now..." she leaned on me resting her head on my shoulder. "It was up to me to maintain that position, and I failed."

"Oh come on! You failed!" I barked. "You did as good as Diggory, let me tell you. We lost because our seeker is weak and inexperienced, we absolutely dominated them on the score before the end." I explained, still holding her against my wet skin. "Train Esmund and it's going to be alright. Draco isn't an especially good seeker, we may have our chances next match. In the worst case, just break the little shit's nose with a bludger like you send them so well and that's it!"

She nodded softly.

"Yeah, I guess." she breathed softly. "You're all wet, you should dry yourself." she muttered. I rarely used the drying charm, it was really unpleasant. Being wet was much more to my liking.

"No thank you, on the other hand you should take a shower, you're all sticky and smelly." I retorted with a grin as she was standing up.

"Want to take it with me?" It was said jokingly, but she was looking at me with foxy eyes. I stood up and grabbed her by the waist, too hungry to play games anymore. Her eyes opened in surprise as I pinned her against the locker and buried my tongue in her mouth. She didn't stop me, though, she simply returned the kiss hungrily, her hands grasping my flesh and slipping on my wet skin.

I started kissing her in the neck, she was more salty than expected, I thought as I bit her sweaty skin. She moaned and giggled as I slid my hands under her robes and reached her tiny female assets.

"H-Harry, s-stop..." she mouthed between two kisses. I didn't stop, I ripped her clothes off with a bout of magic strength and tossed the cloth on the ground. She squeaked.

"I'm not... I don't think we should..." She was now in panties, I slid my hands across her whole body, licking and biting her nipples avidly. The sexual excitement building in me tasted more and more like dark magic, but not nearly as powerful. _I wonder how it would feel if I cursed her while fucking her._ The wicked thought didn't bother me at all, I was entranced.

'_Yield.'_ I commanded suddenly, forcing power in my voice involuntarily like I did when I played with Fiendfyre. Her doubts seemed to vanish immediately at that, she gave herself to me, her whole body naked and grinding on me in savage moans and whimpers, her mouth riding across mine without restraints and her nails stinging my reinforced skin.

The locker room stayed fortunately unperturbed for the wild hour, and we ended up in the shower, tired but feeling great. Well, for her. On my side, I wasn't tired at all and while I felt great, I knew I could feel better.

_Cursing or killing her for instance would be awesome, right now._

I winced at the terrible idea and conjured a towel. Priscillia had already dried herself with a wave of wand and was now casting a _Reparo _on her torn Quidditch robes. She had put the Hogwarts black robes on.

I walked to my own stash of clothes and slipped them on.

"It was really great, I mean _really_ great, Harry. But... I don't think we should do that..." she started, unsure, looking at me nervously. "It was a sudden urge, I... don't know how you feel... I mean you're fourteen and all." she went on as I chuckled.

"No problem, Priss, I can't say it was just an urge for me but feel free to forget it, I won't bother you with it." I looked at my watch. Almost an hour left, I had enough time to get here without hurry.

"What do you mean it wasn't just an urge?" she asked softly.

"I mean you're really cute and I'd pound you all day and night if I could, so it wasn't just an urge." I brought my hand to my chin. "Actually, I guess it was an urge, but if I get them constantly I can't call them urges... Or can I?"

She giggled happily and walked to me. She laid a kiss on my lips.

"Well in that case, let's do that again, some day." she winked and left the locker room. I followed her and headed for the third floor.

I was in time for my appointment with the middle-aged wizard in the underground warehouse. I didn't care much for the unusual setting, I was getting illegal and cheap Apparating lessons, that was all that mattered.

I spotted my instructor in a clearing behind a huge stack of barrels and coughed to announce myself as I approached. He was talking to another wizard.

He beckoned me and shook the hand of the other wizard with a smile.

"So, ready for your first lesson?" he yelled, his voice echoing in the impressive warehouse, bouncing on the numerous boxes and barrels stacked everywhere. The other guy walked past me, I nodded.

"Sir, yes sir." I tossed him a bag of twenty galleons. He grabbed it and pocketed it.

"The anti-splinch ward is already in place, you can start when you want. Do you want the theory ?"

"Do tell."

"Well, to successfully apparate, you must understand a few things. First is to know where you want to go. It doesn't have to be a clear visualization or a street name on a parchment, but your mind, your whole being must know where you want to go. You must feel it and command your magic to go there." he started explaining happily.  
"Second thing is to focus. You have to focus really hard on what you want to do. It's not some wand waving where a word and an approximate movement gets a result, you have to be one hundred percent focused on the feat you're trying to perform." he continued, staring at me intently.  
"Third and last thing you need to know is that you want to be sure of what you're doing. No doubts can be present, no questions on where you will land or how it will feel, you need to be firmly confident and trust your magic completely." he concluded.  
"Any questions?"

I looked at the chalk circle drawn on the floor.

"So what do I do? I just focus on my wish to be in that circle, without questioning the forces that will move me here?" It sounded sort of stupid, but magic had its own ways. He stared at the circle contemplatively and nodded.

"I guess that's a way to sum it up. Go on, try it."

I closed my eyes to get a better focus and tried, without result. I tried a few more times and sighed, looking at him again.

"How did it feel? Did you feel your magic doing something or not at all?"

"Errr... yes, sort of. It felt like my magic got ready to do something but didn't really do anything." I explained.

"Mmmmh, try to trust it some more, don't try to understand how to trigger it or anything, just do it." he suggested.

After a while, he side-apparated me to give me a taste of the thing and I eventually successfully almost-apparated and crashed against the anti-splinch wards, sparing me the discomfort of ripping my body in numerous pieces.

I left the warehouse and walked to _The Leprechaun Hut _where I was to meet my contact. The barman had promised me the man could provide me in illegal items. I wasn't quite sure of all the items I'd need to recreate Natasha's body from the few drops of blood I had around my neck, but I already knew a few.

_Dementor saliva, Banshee cloth and some Phoenix tears. _Only one of those was legal, and all of them made my remaining stash of money look ridiculous. About 7000 galleons, that was that was left. And I had no doubt goblins would charge me around 4000 or 5000 for a simple imbuement. _It cost them almost nothing, the greedy bastards..._

My contact was hooded like I was, two black shapes in a dark alley, murmuring illegal words.

"I can't get Banshee cloth, nobody smuggles that stuff in Europe anymore since this drug affair in France. You'll have to deal directly with Don Aleksandro and smuggle it at your own risk. Aleksandro owns the largest black market in the world. How much Banshee cloth are we talking about?" he muttered.

_How many? Just enough to warp an eight years old girl's body._

"About half a ton." I lied, seeing where this was leading me. He whistled.

"Merlin, we're talking about of hundreds of thousands of galleons. I'll give you a contact in Venezuela, he will supply you with anything. Only a hundred galleons and the contact is yours." he offered. I sighed, not in the mood for torture or Legilimency. _And I can't risk losing my only lead on the biggest deposit of dark artifacts in the world._

I tossed him a purse.

"Speak."

"I can't be sure who's going to deal with you, probably Pablo. Portkey to Caracas in Venezuela and look for the Aleksandro Manor. I will tell them about you. Now, I can provide you in Dementor saliva and Phoenix tears, how much?"

I shook my head.

"I'm done with you." I walked away, letting him swear softly in the alley. He had just lost a customer.

_If I'm going to deal with some Latino mafia lord, might as well deal only with him._

* * *

"Oh Harry, um... hey!"

"Sup Trix." I greeted as I tried to walk past her. She blocked my way.

"So... where were you today? I didn't see you much." she laughed nervously. _Oh. Right. You're meant to tell Dumbledore about me and my doings._

"Oh I was here and there, doing stuff... How about you? I wish I'd see you more too." I replied slyly.

"Well, same thing actually, doing prefect stuff and all. Where do you come from, anyway?" she tried again, smiling awkwardly.

"Ahhh, that's a secret." I answered teasingly. I was coming back from the cave, where I had started forging the main part of my armor, the cuirass. I now had a clear idea of what I was going for. Ancient Greece terror. It was kitsch and over the top, I knew it, but it was a Mage Knight thing to be over the top. Brassed muscle cuirass and bull horns on the helm would do give it that minotaur look I wanted.

Her eyes twinkled suddenly, she was enjoying playing detective.

"C'mon tell me!" she played.

"Nuh uh, it's a too valuable secret to be given. I'd sell it, though."

"Alright then, how much?"

I pretended considering it, making a show of staring in the void and stroking my chin.

"Yes, I think a kiss would make it." I finally answered, earning an amused sigh from her. "But not the prude kiss you'd give to anybody, I want a long and tasty french kiss." I grinned widely as she frowned slightly.

"Who do you take me for, Potter, I'm not Priscillia." she harrumphed. My relationship with the team captain was well known in the Hufflepuff community. It had started by a few rumors from people who wondered where she was during that hour, and since neither of us denied, it was now common knowledge.

"I only asked for a kiss, you don't _have_ to jump on me after. Not that that I didn't entertain the idea." I shrugged.  
"It's a secret anyway, I'd prefer not telling you." I walked around her and through the door to the great hall.

I reached our table and sat down, I was one of the first. She sat in front of me as I helped myself with some strawberry and whipped cream. I raised an eyebrow to her and tasted the whipped cream.

She continued staring at me without speaking, a smile creeping on her lips.

"What are you looking at? If you want some whipped cream, it's wonderful." I suggested, stretching the bowl to her.

"You're a mystery, Harry. And I'll figure you out." She declared, accepting the bowl. "You have a deal."

"Marvelous!" I exclaimed in my best Dumbledore impersonation and clapped my hands. "Shall we find a nice and cozy place?"

"What? Now, you mean?" she looked around quickly for no apparent reason, she had dumped Pryce last year and was single since then. _Maybe she thinks I actually date Priscillia._

"Well yeah, I've got a nice strawberry breath and your lips are covered in whipped cream, I can't imagine a better setting for it."

She bit her lower lips, shifted on her seat and finally stood up.

"Alright, let's go."

I chuckled and followed her, my bowl of cream covered strawberries in hand. I wasn't about to let go this work of art for a kiss.

"Are you seriously going to bring this with you?"

I gulped a spoonful of strawberries and nodded the affirmative. She sighed and walked beside me to the first floor main corridor. We encountered a few of our classmates on the way, and greeted them without stopping. Many asked where we were going but no answer was given, my mouth was conveniently full of the delicious fruit and Trix conveniently didn't hear them.

When we reached an empty classroom, she was all flustered and agitated.

"Let's get it over with." she declared, turning to me her pink cheeks.

"You know they're going to gossip anyway, we might as well make the most of it." I explained helpfully, swallowing another lump of strawberries. She smirked and took my bowl off my hands to put it aside.

"You're really confident in your charm, aren't you?" She approached me with a slight blush and slipped her hands on my shoulders.

"So you admit I have some." I quipped one last time before grabbing her by the waist.

"I would be blind to -" I cut her by pulling her suddenly and snatching my well earned kiss before she gave it to me. _I'm a conqueror, I don't wait for them to give it to me, I seize it. _I thought while I forced her to play with my tongue.

She resisted a bit at first, trying to keep it reasonable but ended up snogging me like it was her last day on earth. Her hands moved from my shoulders to the back of my skull, making my hair even more messy, and she closed the remaining distance between us, pressing her advantageous chest against mine. She whined softly when my hands climbed her upper body on their own, I intensified the kiss and pushed her against a desk, ignoring the rattling sound of the wood on the stone. I lifted her by the thighs and placed her on said furniture, her legs naturally welcoming me in her personal space. She eventually stopped my conquest when I slid my hand under her robes to cup her breast. She yelped a cute moan and pushed me back with her hand.

"N-No, stop, Harry." She swallowed and inhaled deeply, her face crimson. She wiggled out of my grasp and jumped off the desk, flattening her messy clothes and rearranging her untidy hair.  
"Wow, that felt... strange." She stated after a moment.

I sat on a desk and _Accio_'d my bowl of strawberries.  
"I liked it." I said simply, plunging the spoon in the creamy bowl.

"Yeah, me too... I mean too much. I liked it way too much, you're... different when you're closer." She explained cryptically. I narrowed my eyes.

"Wadya mean?" I asked, my mouth full.

"Kind of... mesmerizing, compelling..." she stared into space. I raised an eyebrow. _Weird... that remind me how easily Priscillia gave in. _Even I had felt the power I had emitted in my command. _Oh well, I don't exactly give a damn._

The sound of my spoon rasping the bottom of the glass bowl awoke her from her musing and she turned to me, still very pink in the face.

"Anyway, your secret, let me hear it."

I laughed heartily and made a you-don't-seriously-believe-that face.

"Wasn't it obvious? I have no secret, Trix, I just wanted to kiss you." I said in a chuckle. She gaped at me, her face reddening. This time, it wasn't embarrassment and arousal.

"You asshole!" she whined. "I can't believe you tricked me! Five points from Hufflepuff!" she yelled madly.

"Go on, I never cared much for points. Our housemates won't like it much though, when you explain them why you took points from me." I mocked, jumping down from the desk I was sitting on.  
"You were most delicious, Trix, even better than those strawberries, and they were covered in much more whipped cream than you were."  
I blew her a kiss.  
"Let's make sure we have enough of it next time." I laughed and exited the room as she shouted at me angrily.

I didn't care about her anymore, I had finished playing. The headache was slowly returning, still hidden behind the clouds of my thoughts. _I need some good ol' killing._

I went back to the great hall and grabbed a sausage with a loaf of bread, ignoring the cheers of my peers that had guessed I borrowed miss Eveleen for more that discussing my potion essay. I disillusioned myself and returned in the forest, this time to settle my need of dark magic.

Diggory hadn't let go his position of Prefect, even with the tournament going on, but he was too busy to even look at me. That left Trix the only one to report my actions to Dumbledore. _And next time I'll see her she'll probably be naked and covered in whipped cream. _I grinned. Girls weren't quite all over me like Louise was, but they obviously liked seeing me up close and flashing me bright smiles or suggestive winks. It was great, to flirt like I was normal. Like I didn't have anything to care about. A strange contrast with my alter-ego, with the real Harry that was studying the darkest branch of magic during class. My researches were going forward, slowly but surely.

I was now used to Imperiusing everyone around me in class so I could focus entirely on the subject. Maintaining the Imperius wasn't hard and provided me a security nothing else could.

Zachary hadn't talked to me at all since the apology, he had way more important stuff to think about. The first task was planned in a few days. James came once every now and then to give him spells to learn and advices.

All of this only contributed to make him more dangerous to me, if we ended up dueling. I wasn't afraid of him, but it bothered me that I couldn't consider him a bug that would never impede me.

A rustle in the bushes behind me made its way to my ears and interrupted my thinking. I turned around. Before me stood proudly a tall creature, half horse and half human. _The human part looks awfully hairy, I wonder if they're all like that._

"Hey. Never seen your kind around, and I've been playing in this forest for some time now." I greeted the creature with a wave. The books said centaurs were intelligent beings.

It squinted at me and raised its bow to me, bending the cord with an arrow. I raised my wand to it, changing my demeanor in a split second.

"Calm your horses, horseman. I can blow you up before you say shazam."

It didn't move a muscle.

"So you are the source of the death and darkness that creeps in the forest, young human." it started on a menacing tone.  
"Our herd has decided to let you be until you become too much of a problem, but I disagree. You are too much of a problem." The arrow raced to me and impacted my chest violently, piercing my toughened skin and burying itself in my flesh. The enhanced flesh stopped it soon enough to spare my life, the arrow hadn't reached the heart. the centaur opened its eyes madly as I tossed the arrow aside, producing a line of blood drops on the surrounding fern trees.

"What are you?" it whispered as I jabbed my wand.

"_Duonexufulmen!_" was my answer.

The white curse sped to the centaur, it tried to get away with a side jump, and the curse hit it on the side. The second the curse connected, thunder boomed in my ears, my arm shook madly as a thick bolt of lightning exploded from my wand to the horse, lasting twice as long as a normal lightning bolt and flashing a pure white light on the surrounding forest. It was over in a half a second, the centaur fell face first, his fur blackened. His face was torn in a terrible expression of pain, his eyes rolled back and his mouth open wide. Thick blood dripped from its ear, nose and eyes. A strange black smoke surrounded him, his flesh was still audibly fizzling.

I was on my knees, tasting a death by this spell I had only recently learned.

Shivering madly, I started to laugh.

My body laughed on its own, not an evil laugh but an insane laugh that resounded of power and madness.

* * *

_**AN: Sorry for those who like romance, but Harry is fucked up, I can't help it!**_

_**Again, thank you for the reviews, especially ToumaFF for the detailed one. Malakish: perhaps I was inspired by Code Geass, but I doubt it because I forgot what even happened in the story, but I'm curious, why do you ask? Where does the link between my story and Code Geass lie, according to you?**_

_**I might be getting over myself here, but I think you can expect the next chapter very soon, in the following week.**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**I intend no copyright infringement but if Rowling really don't like it, we can brawl outside.**_

* * *

**.**

**Too Young to Die.**

**.**

**Chapter 12.**

**. **

* * *

_I'll definitely need Harpy eye globes or the incantation about sorrow and pain of a torn soul doesn't make any sense. That's probably what Yevgeny meant when he wrote those notes about the crying angels of death. And to say I thought it was just an allegory for the runes of despair and salvation like in that Tibetan exorcising ritual... _

"Finally here, I'm waiting since half an hour, you know?" complained a busty witch in front of me.

"Prefect Eveleen, you summoned me?"

"Yes, I wanted to show you something." She whispered a word to the painting behind her. She had asked me to meet her in the fifth floor without telling me why. I imagined it could be interesting and here I was.

The painting slid on the wall and revealed a wooden door like any other class room door. Trix grabbed the handle and walked into the room. I followed her.

"This... is the Hufflepuff prefects' reserved bathroom!" she exclaimed, spinning on herself arms wide open. The bathroom was large and with a low-ceiling, the floor was made of marble tiles and gleamed with a soft light. There was a huge square bath in the middle of the place, that looked more like a Jacuzzi from where I was, sinks and mirrors were lined against a wall and towels were being heated by another wall. There was a window, only source of light in the room, and it was tainted yellow, bathing the bathroom in a warm dim glow.

"That is definitely one of the coolest room in Hogwarts, but why did you bring me here?" I inquired, even though I had a small idea. I hadn't stopped flirting with Trix, even with her being quite mad at me for a few days.

"Well... I was wondering how to store the most whipped cream in a single place..." she walked to the tube and slid her fingers through the mountains of bubbles. _Those are not made of soap._

She brought her Chantilly coated fingers to her mouth and licked them, staring at me.

"But then I figured it was too much for me alone, so here it is, will you help me eating all of this cream?" she asked with a fake shy voice.

I grinned widely and walked to her.

"But I only eat whipped cream with strawberries. Perhaps you could find something equally juicy and sugary to go with it?"

At that she dropped her robes altogether, revealing her naked body that had been hiding beneath it. She had the faintest blush and stepped in the bath, giving me a nice view on her treasures.

"Consider me your fruit, then."

The next two hours were something to be remembered, probably the naughtiest Sunday morning of Hogwarts history. Trix treated me like a drug addict would treat a mountain of heroin, and I showed her a few tricks I had learned from Selena the detective, involving obscure charms and her nervous system.

We were now resting and panting in the messy bathtub, covered in whipped cream, only our head and hair had earned a cleaning charm before I slumped on the edge of the tub. Trix followed me and slumped beside me, leaving us enough space to heat off. I vanished most of the cream and opened the faucets with a wave of my wand. Clear warm water flooded the tub and rose until chest level, bits of cream floating right and left like clouds in a blue sky. She came closer to me and leaned on me, her hand sliding playfully down my torso.

"What are those necklaces' stories?" she asked in a numb and dreamy voice, nothing like the everyday Trix._ Well, she was nothing like the usual Trix for the past two hours..._

"This one is my dead sister's necklace, and this one is just a gift." I explained, only half lying.

"Your sister? I'm so sorry... how old was she?" she continued in the same voice, this time with a hint of concern and genuine sympathy.

"Too old... too young. She didn't deserve to die." I spat, anger rising on its own. "Sorry, I just don't like talking about it."

"I understand..." she murmured, kissing me softly in the neck.

"So, what happened? You reject me every each opportunity I exploit to get to you, and suddenly, today, you give in?"

She giggled.  
"Well... I wasn't sure it was right for me to actually do it... You're only fourteen. But then I heard the rumor about you and that Gryffindor whore and I decided fuck it. I wanted you too much."

"Oh, Lea?" I sniggered.

"Yeah, I see what you mean."  
Lea Kristine had been especially suggestive about the ideas she had for me. It had been a quick and effortless shag in a bathroom in the dungeons. Sadly, or funnily, according to how you see things, Lavender Brown was in the very same bathroom and walked out of the booth to detect the source of all these muffled moans. Naturally the whole school had learned about the naughty seventh year and her fourth year playboy in the next hour.

"So? Was the rumor actually founded? Did you really fuck her in that nasty Slytherin bathroom?" she rose her head too look at me in the eyes.

"Maybe, maybe not. I like the status quo. Those who believe it will believe it anyway, and those who don't will do the exact same." I explained, shrugging. She sighed and stretched her back, her freed breasts peaking out of the water.

"You're such a mystery, Harry. It's like you say things but you know a hundred more that you don't say." she muttered, playing with my chest delicately.  
"You know the Headmaster actually asked us prefects too monitor you, because of your brother and all that."

I feigned surprise.

"Yeah, I don't know what he's thinking... he's old you know, and rather crazy." she continued.

"What are you meant to do if you find anything strange on me?"

"Go directly to him, he gave us the password to his office." she laughed quietly.

"His office is protected with a password? Nothing more?"

"Nope. I told you, he's mad. Or maybe he doesn't have anything valuable in there."

_How wrong you are, sweetheart. Phoenix tears alone are worth quite a fortune.  
_"And what's the password?" This time she laughed out loud, making the water around us waver and splash.

"Not a chance, Potter."

I grabbed her hair and turned her head to me. I stared in her eyes for a second before I kissed her passionately. _Jellytongue, got it._ I grinned internally as I kissed her, passive Legilimency was in my opinion one of magic's greatest gift to mankind.

I stopped the wild kiss that was building up and stood up, water and liquefied cream dripping from my body, I jumped out of the bath and cleaned myself with a couple charms.

"Well, I don't have all day to dick around, sweetie." I started dressing up as she stepped out of the bath, her divine shape gleaming with yellow reflects as the light hit her slippery skin.

"Where are you going?" she pouted.

_I just got the best idea to resolve my little problem, and it's thanks to you._ I smiled happily.  
"Why, hang out with my yearmates and study."

"Oh. Well, good day then." she replied a bit dejectedly.

"You too. Hope we will share more cream in the future." I joked as I left the room. She giggled and I closed the door behind me. _Destination: Dumbledore's office._

My main problem with the body conception ritual was that to recreate the body, Yevgeny had apparently used a mix of phoenix tears and Dementor saliva. However, those two ingredients _never_ went together, in any kind of ritual, those were the very most opposite of each other. To mix them would create a reaction I could only guess from Yevgeny's note, and they were quite chaotic.

The only way to successfully determinate how to link those two and if it was even possible, was to experiment with them in a small custom ritual. Just to test the reaction of the mix in a closed setting. From that I could extrapolate enough to decide how to put it in the final ritual. However, with my few thousands galleons left, I couldn't afford them. They were XXXXX ranked items and their price followed the trend.

I had planned to steal them, somehow, like I would be stealing the final ingredients, but the opportunity was too good.

_It's probably madness to go in there like that. Who knows what kind of shit I could trigger..._ I laughed as I ran in the corridor. _Fucking insane, but no one can stop me._

I suddenly stopped, McGonagall was talking with Hagrid the giant in a side corridor.

"Professor McGonagall, is headmaster Dumbledore in his office?" I asked, my head a bit dizzy from the rush and the post-coital exhaustion.

She raised her eyebrows.

"He is absent for the week-end, but you can tell me anything you would say to him, Mr. Potter."

"Oh no, it's nothing, I'll ask another time." I didn't let her the time to answer, running again.

I eventually stopped before the fake gargoyles that kept the door, only stopped once in my race by a shy Hannah asking me out for the Yule Ball. _Sure, I'd love to lose my time attending a fucking ball._

"You two are actually just animated statues, right? You don't speak or even see, for that matter. Right? Yeah, right. Jellytongue."

The gargoyles moved aside and let me enter the place. In the spiral staircase I disillusioned myself, recalling the only time I went in here and the numerous paintings behind the desk._ They're probably all snoring anyway._

I opened the mahogany door as softly as I could and slipped my almost-invisible body in the opening. I watched around, Dumbledore was nowhere in sight. His pet phoenix was sleeping on its perch. I took two step forward and its head jerked in my direction, faster than lightning. _Damn._

I took two more steps. The bird was still looking at me but didn't move. _I guess it's just intrigued._

I was in reaching distance after a few more steps. It was still looking at me. _You can't really see me, can you? You just know there's a disillusioned kid in front of you but you don't know what he's doing. _I mused to myself as I raised my wand slowly, until it was trained on it. I inhaled deeply.

I would have to overpower my spell badly for it to work, phoenixes were constituted solely of pure magic.

_Confundus._ The spell hit at point blank, flashing too quickly for the sleeping paintings to notice. The phoenix shook its head and flapped its wings for a moment before becoming immobile again. I breathed heavily, the power I had pushed in that was overwhelming, I felt like I had spent the two last weeks doing gymnastic with Trix nonstop.

The fact that the phoenix only stared dumbly at me after a open attack proved that it had worked. The bird probably had no clue of what it was at the moment.

_Lacrymosa. _The spell hit the bird, who didn't do as much as flinching or moving a feather and soon, drops of gleaming liquid were flowing from its eyes. _Bingo._

I placed two hastily conjured phials under it eyes and harvested as much as I could. It wasn't easy because the damn thing kept rubbing its head affectionately against my hands. It stopped crying after two half phials and some. I petted it for a while as a sign of gratitude for its cooperation and walked off. The confusion spell had probably stopped affecting it halfway during the collect, but it didn't seem to dislike being petted, even by something that reeked of dark magic like me. _Nice bird, really. Not quite as noble and proud as the books say._

_Now, for the Dementor saliva. I heard they brought some in for the second task._ If I had doubted the truth of that rumor at first, since they had put students to battle against freaking _dragons _in the first task, I was keen to believe it.

_Probably hid them in the forest, like the dragons._

I grinned evilly.

* * *

"And the quaffle goes to Howell who pass it to -oh, nice catch by Montague who passes to Justice and ... no, the Hufflepuff keeper Pryce stopped it easily. Potter with the quaffle, the Hufflepuffs are going for a strong and fast attack -"

I accelerated, preparing myself for the Blitzkrieg maneuver, behind me were all the chasers and the beaters, going for a full frontal attack. Montague whistled his troops and they established a quick grid defense. They plunged on us like a flock of angry crows as we crossed their line, I pulled up and stopped my acceleration, dodging Montague himself, and sped downward to avoid the others. Hannah Abbot, our new chaser since Pamela Laverne had graduated, got smashed pretty hard by Warrington, earning a whistle from Hooch just as I was about to throw the quaffle in the loop.

"God damn it!" I swore and tossed the quaffle to Howell. Alyson Justice, the good-looking dark haired Slytherin chaser, was hovering next to me and snorted.

"Pretty brutal tactic for a Hufflepuff. Your chasers can't handle it." she stuck her tongue out.

I glared at her.

"I remember you falling of your broom because of a simple bludger, Justice. So don't tell me Slytherins would handle it any better." I smiled and cocked my head to the side.

"That _simple _bludger broke me four ribs and pierced internal organs, Potter, and do I need to remind you that you used me as a shield from this very bludger?" she snarled.  
"But who am I kidding? The _incredible_ Harry Potter does not fear bludgers, right. He can crash on the main tower at full speed and come out alright." she joked, her eyes boring in me.

"If it's just a rib problem, I'd be glad to rub them and kiss the pain away." I voluntarily left the comment on my crash unanswered.  
"I'm good at that, too." I grinned widely and flew to her slowly. To my surprise, she didn't back off.

"Oh yes, I heard a few things about Harry Potter, the playboy. How many of them are true, I wonder." she chuckled hauntingly, watching me approach with disdain.

"Well, I could show you how many are true, probably all of them." I reached her and placed my hand on her waist. I saw indecision and doubt in her eyes, her surfaces thoughts expressing how much she liked what was going on and how much she wondered why.

I had wondered why girls reacted like that too, and came with the conclusion that since my wand rejected me, I could safely assume that the change in me was a very real thing, I guessed girls felt a bit of the dark magic that was constantly slithering in my veins, and liked it. _Dark magic does feel great, after all._

My sporadic use of magic to boost my voice and charisma was also a cause, but I tried to refrain myself on this. It was easy to spot and would raise many questions.

I slipped my arm around her and pulled her closer, her broom offering a small resistance. Her thoughts were now clear. She loved what was going on.

"Think you can handle a Slytherin witch, Potter? I'm not your standard shallow Hufflepuff slut."

"Oh I think I could handle a few Slytherin witches simultaneously, do you have any good-looking friends?" I quipped, rubbing her waist with my hand. Her eyes gleamed hungrily and her partly open mouth threatened to eat me whole if I didn't close the gap immediately. I leaned on her to take care of that.

"Potter and Justice seem to not care about the game that much and decided to know each other better, lovely story, a Hufflepuff and a Slytherin, forbidden fruit and all." boomed the laughing voice of the commentator, cutting me as I was diving for the liberating kiss, Alyson had her eyes closed and her tongue ready, she suddenly closed her mouth and her eyes jerked open in terror.

"Oh my god I can't believe I did that!" she yelped before speeding away from me. I laughed heartily, witches were damn hilarious sometimes.

I flew to Priscillia, who was eyeing me irately.

"So what happened?"

"Oh well, while you were busy snogging yet another witch, Hannah was moved to the hospital wing, and we have no substitute!" she yelled madly. I didn't know why she was so mad, we had our own little fun just before the match.

"Oy! I wasn't snogging anything!" I defended, but my easy tone didn't seem to appease her wrath.  
"We don't need a substitute, we lead by sixty points. Hey Esmund!" I shouted to the head-in-the-clouds boy. He jumped, startled, and turned his head to me.  
"Fly next to me, alright? I'll tell you were the snitch is." I turned to Priscillia's dumbfounded look. "I already saw it three times during the match."

"If you win us the match, Harry, I'll do you things that will make you forget any Slytherin bitch." she whispered slyly, biting her lip suggestively.

She nodded to Hooch, who whistled the resumption of the game, and we flew back to our respective positions.

"And the match starts again, Hufflepuff has the quaffle but try another tactic, Potter behind and followed by... Aengus the seeker! Oh, a bludger came very close to Montague but he dodged in time and now he's leading the attack on the lone Hufflepuff attacker, Howell Nye, who makes a nice barrel roll and dodges an incoming bludger -"

The match went on for only ten minutes and thirty points for Slytherin, I spotted the snitch and pushed Esmund to it, who grabbed it just before Malfoy and his state-of-the-art broom could try, coming at full speed. The crowd exploded in cheers and the Slytherin got really mad, a small fight exploded in the stands in the Slytherin side. To lose to a six men team with everyone on Nimbus 2001 was laughable. Pathetic, really.

I landed along with the others and let them rush to Esmund, who was having the time of his life. He caught my eyes from the mass of people around him and I flashed him a thumb up. I liked the guy, he was always dreaming and never listening to anybody, but when he talked, he had interesting things to say.

I heard a shrill scream and turned around. Montague had backhanded Justice who was now eating the dust, her arms flailing around. I didn't care much about her but I saw an opportunity to diversify my witch repertory. The post-match chaos was still present, spectators flooding the pitch to yell their victory or disappointment. Nobody had noticed the Slytherin captain molesting his chaser.

I walked to them confidently, my wand out.

"You filthy whore! That's what you get for betraying Slytherin!" he barked, spluttering on her. _Disgusting, I'll have to wash her before doing anything._

"Montague, dear friend! Is that really how you should treat your own players?" I smiled widely and opened my arms as if I wanted him to hug me. He glared at me and whipped his wand out, the rest of the Slytherin team followed. I looked around, nobody was paying attention to us.

"Potter, don't get too cocky, that could end badly for you." snorted Malfoy, pushing his way through his teammates to get in front of me. He stretched his hand to Alyson, who was watching the scene worriedly from the ground.

"Lady Justice, I apologize for the behavior of this _ape_." he spat, glaring at Montague who popped another vein on his forehead, getting angrier by the second but wasn't foolish enough to attack Malfoy.

I, however, didn't give a hippogryph's shit about Malfoy.

"Frangerium." I spoke happily, with a wide smile.

The silent explosion curse hit the ground and blew up the whole Slytherin contingent, without any sound. Only the manly yelps and squeaks of fears were heard, lost in the ambient chaos on the pitch. A shockwave of sand and dirt washed over me and everybody around, burying Alyson. I laughed a belly laugh as the Slytherins flew several feet in the air and landed brutally on other people, causing a bit more confusion in the general anarchy. I grabbed the slowly emerging form of Alyson by the waist and pulled her out of the sand, like if she weighted no more than a kilogram. I placed her on her feet and she stumbled awkwardly, holding my arm to steady herself, sand dripping from every inch of her robes and hair.

I had kept laughing the whole time and finally calmed down, wiping my eyes.

"Let's get out of here and find a quiet place to continue our discussion, miss Justice." I suggested, not leaving her much choice as I dragged her with me.

She spat some sand and waved her wand several times to vanish all of it, eventually succeeding, save for a few gallons in her hair.

"You're freaking insane!" she finally blurted out, her eyes wide open. She wasn't letting my arm go.

"Not that much, just a bit." I laughed some more, having so much fun. "A tiny bit insane, just what you need to be an incredible sex machine." I turned to her suddenly, my tone mischievous. I kissed her wildly, earning a startled yelp before she pushed me back, panicked.

"By Merlin! What's wrong with you!" she barked, still holding my arm. I pushed the locker door and dragged her in a side corridor.  
"Montague is going to be mad at you, for real! He's gonna hurt you badly!" she squeaked.

I snorted.  
"I don't fear him, if he was anything near good with a wand he'd have blocked that spell, I even spoke the incantation out loud to give him a chance."

"B-But what about Malfoy then? His dad is _really_ powerful! He could get you expelled!" she was staring at me in awe as I searched around for the painting I was looking for. _Ah, there it is._

"Towel'a'dowell." I said to the painting, thanking magic for the magnificent existence of Legilimency once again. The painting slid aside and revealed the door behind it.

We entered the Hufflepuff prefects' bathroom and closed the door behind us.

"Well if I'm getting expelled, might as well make my last day here worth the shot, don't you think?" I grinned as she admired the place.

"Where are we?" she muttered, sliding her hand along the edge of the inviting bath.

"It doesn't matter, just take your clothes off and open the faucets." I commanded casually, getting my own robes off.

"Merlin, Potter! I already told you, I won't just lay down for you!" she stomped on the tiled floor. I tossed my robes on the ground and took a step to her.

'_Do it._' I commanded, this time willingly pushing magic in my voice.

She faltered, her gaze blurring slightly. I took three steps and looked at her in the eyes. She wanted it.

"I... I..." she started.

'_Take them off_' I was starting to like that a lot. She exhaled a lengthy breath and began to take her robes off, giving up. I chuckled as she was standing in panties before me, shivering with lust and apprehension.

"Resistance is futile." I muttered, more because I found the sentence fitting than anything.

"I'm a virgin." she whispered as I took her hand and led her in the bathtub. _Right, she's only fifteen._

"Well let's take care of that." I grinned. Being Harry Potter was a blast.

* * *

Rosaline tapped on my shoulder. I jerked my head up and snapped my fingers, triggering the runes on my notepad and book. They snapped shut just as professor Moody approached our tables. I instinctively released the eight Imperius curses I was holding on my housemates. They didn't even move a muscle, they had no idea they were under it all this time, a weak Imperius like this one was impossible to notice without experience in the domain.

"Potter! You didn't listen to me at all!" barked the Defense professor.

"Sir, that's not true!" I yelled, looking right before me like a good soldier. A few students snickered. Moody snarled.

"What can you tell me about the _Avada Kedavra_, Potter?"

"It kills, sir!" I yelled all the same as before. He snorted.

"You obviously don't want to learn, you can leave the classroom." he spat angrily, pointing the door with his staff. I considered the suggestion, I was sick of researching this damn ritual, it was at a dead point and would stay there until I could test Phoenix tears with Dementor saliva. Moody would probably not bother to remember the event and speak to Dumbledore about it. _That's it then._

"Understood, sir." I stood up with my satchel in my hand and walked out of the classroom, my housemates shook their heads and rolled their eyes.

"Typical Harry behavior..." muttered Elissa when I winked to her before crossing the threshold.

I strolled for a while in the open air archways near the forest, wondering how I would obtain Dementor saliva. The second task was planned for next week and I had seen the Dementors in the forest. Six of them were in separate cages, guarded by a handful of wizards camping next to them. Well, as next as possible considering the despair and cold the beast were spreading from their cages.

I had studied it a bit and found out that the only ways to collect their saliva was either to wrestle with them and stick your fingers in their mouth forcefully, which was widely regarded as suicide, to try and _Accio_ the saliva directly from their mouth, overpowering their magical presence, which was even more impossible that the first option, or to wait for it to drool and _Accio_ it when it leaves their mouth.

The only time Dementors drooled was when they were about to or in the act of kissing someone.

I had started to study the Patronus Charm but quickly dropped it, the only happy memories I could muster were either of me receiving sick pleasure from the dark magic hurting something or memories of Natasha, which made my blood boil in anger no matter how I went about it. There was just no way I'd be able to cast it, my numerous tries confirmed it.

I sighed. I knew what I'd have to do. _Someone's gonna have to die for me... who deserves the shittiest death?_

My magic rustled in my skull, warning me of a disturbance in the area. I turned around and sidestepped the bright yellow spell that brushed past me and crashed against a pillar, cracking the stone.

"Quick reflexes, Potter, but that won't save you today." Montague stepped out of the shadow between two pillars, his wand trained at me and a nasty grin on his ugly face. He was actually not that ugly, but still an ass.

"Oh but it will, Montague, and you know it. Why would you try your luck with a spell in the back if not?" I mocked. _Montague, he could be what I'm looking for..._

"You think you're all powerful because of that lucky shot on the pitch, heh, Potter? Proud you seduced some dumb bitch because she's a Slytherin? Think we give a shit?" he barked a mad laugh.

"Yeah, I think you're pretty mad I got to pop her cherry before any of you primates could lay a finger on her thigh." I flashed a genuine smile, my magic was aching to be unleashed and knew I would unleash it. Pre-battle excitement, the thrill of dark magic wiggling in my heart.

His face dropped all pretence of superiority to adopt a truly angry glare.

"Oh she didn't tell you?" I blurted out laughing. "Priceless!" I sidestepped the first two spell he sent and blasted a banisher at him.

He dodged the banisher, sending a few silent curses in my legs. I jumped above them and leaped to him, surprising him with the strength of my jump. He tried to kick me instead of diving to the side or attempting a curse, bad decision. I blocked his kick with my left arm and kicked him in the ribs. He roared in pain as his body was sent crashing against a pillar, his ribs probably cracked.

I stunned him immediately before he even tried to get up and looked around. Only the winter wind met my gaze, chilling my heated body. _No dark magic, sorry. Not if I want to make it look like he did it on his own._

I mended his cracked ribs and dislocated shoulder, disillusioned him and myself and set course to the Forbidden Forest. I levitated his body behind me, longing the lake instead of Hagrid's hut, as it was closer to my current position. The distortion of disillusionment would be invisible in front of the shimmering lake under the afternoon sun.

We reached the forest without delay and ran through the first miles silently. At some point, I sensed the wards and put Montague down, still disillusioned, on the cold earth. I had crossed the Proximity Wards set by the Dementors' guards. Those were only triggered when a wizard crossed them, not any magical creature that lived in the forest, the guards were probably on the lookout and wands drawn.

"Homenum Revelio."  
The light blue smoke tried to shape itself before me and gave up. _No human in fifty yards around me.  
_"You stay here, mate." I muttered to the still and invisible Slytherin beside me and looked around. I knew where I was, I would find him easily. I stretched my limbs and breathed deeply.

_Let's go._

I jumped high in the air and grabbed a twig in a tree, leaped on another and swung around the trunk, throwing myself on a rock. My vision widened as I ran silently from a rock to another, jumping from a tree to another. I eventually spotted the two first guards walking down a path to check who crossed the ward and plummeted on them from the treetop like an eagle on mice.

They heard me a second before my foot crashed in the skull of the first one, sending him sprawling face down on the leaves as I absorbed the chock with my legs and arms. The second guard swore and whipped his wand to me. I dodged the stunner and fired a _Confringo_ right under his feet. I didn't know what kind of protection he had on his robes and I needed to not use any dark magic. _It must look like Montague did it, and he honestly doesn't look like he knows any kind of dark spell._ It would at least not raise suspicions of a possible stronger attacker.

The blasting curse exploded under the guard, he yelped as the blast sent hot pieces of rock and pebbles in his skin, shredding his flesh. His body was chucked in the air, he slammed against a tree and landed brutally, face down, his wand stabbed in the soft earth. He didn't move. I grabbed his wand and stunned him directly on the head. I trotted to the first one, and used my foot to roll him on the back. His eyes were closed, I summoned his wand and crouched to check his heartbeat.

_Dead._ I swallowed gravely and shrugged. The impact of my foot on his skull had been too strong. I rose my head and watched the top of the tree I had jumped from. It was at least twenty yards high. _Yeah, I guess did plummet down pretty hard._

I didn't lose any more time thinking about it, there were still two other guards who had probably heard the explosion from before. I ran up the path I had seen the two first men coming from and distinguished a tent up the hill.

A few overpowered jumps later, I was in a tree, observing the two remaining guards.

"... doesn't respond, we should go check by ourselves." I heard the young wizard say worriedly. The man beside him was older, probably the leader of the team.

"No, we call in Aurors, there isn't any animal who can cause explosions in this part of the forest." finally ordered the aged man, after a moment of contemplation.

I didn't need to hear anymore to know I had to get rid of these two quickly. I hadn't any spell who could travel fast enough for the old man to get hit without noticing it, and he could prove to be a good duelist. I knew experience was the most important criterion in a duel.

I sprang from the twig I was on, jumping high in the air, and landed directly behind the young one with a loud thump, the old wizard had seen me halfway in my descent and had tried a disarming spell that lost itself in the afternoon sky. I grabbed the youngest one by the wand hand, forcing his arm to twist behind his back, and placed my wand on his temple.

"Drop the wand or the rookie gets it." I threatened strongly. Said rookie was wincing in pain as I gradually dislocated his shoulder with my left hand and the old wizard before me frowned. He didn't lower his wand.

"What are you trying to accomplish, kid?"

"I said drop the wand, old man. I know you aren't soldiers, you don't want to lose your new recruit to protect Dementors, do you?" I spat threateningly, my magic actually _hurting_ me, craving dark magic and blood. My whole body cried for it, begged for destruction and the bliss of dark magic.

He sighed and lowered his wand.

"I don't think you're able of any-"

"_Duonexufulmen_!" I bellowed the incantation with all my might, all the force I could gather in my lungs and magic, allowing it to finally taste death and relish it with me. His eyes opened wide and he rose his wand, casting a shield a microsecond too late. The curse connected with his torso and the thick lightning bolt erupted for my wand, linking his torso to my arm with a deafening sound of thunder clashing against my eardrums and a blinding light burning my retina. I felt the curse overpowering the old wizard, I felt my power crushing his power and a second later, it was over.

The wizard's torso _exploded_ , his legs and lower body fell on the ground in a fleshy sound, spilling liquefied organs and boiling blood on the floor. Around me fell pieces of charred meat and drops of blood, like a sudden tropical rainfall, covering the rookie and me in dozens of wizard confetti.

My vision and hearing came back soon enough for me to appreciate the rustle of leaves and bushes around us as the last bits plummeted down. The following ecstasy was one of the, if not the best thing I had ever experienced. I tossed the rookie on the blood soaked ground and groaned loudly as I stretched my back, taking a deep breath of the chill winter air. It hadn't been planned, on the contrary, I had planned to _not _use dark magic, I had planned to _not_ kill them if possible. But I had wanted it, I had needed it. My dark magic addict alter-ego overtook my body and did what my whole being wanted to do.

_At this range, I could have disarmed and obliviated him, that would even have been faster that the shocking curse._ And what a shocking curse, an electricity bolt intense enough to blow up a whole wizard, crushing his magical power along with his flesh. I wouldn't cast anything heavy in the next two days after that. _Damn... I really craved my dose of pleasure..._

A few seconds later, the young wizard opened his eyes and started to move. I took this as my cue and stopped my moment of intense relaxation.

"Wha-what have y-you done?" he stuttered awfully, his hand raising to his mouth, about to vomit all over himself. I spared him the experience.

"Obliviate."

Once properly obliviated and stunned, I levitated his only remaining teammate next to him and fetched Montague, who had patiently waited where I had left him.

I levitated him behind me and walked until I started to feel a cold that had nothing to do with winter. _Dementors._

I eyed the cages, closed by thick frozen metallic chains and locks. I placed Montague on the floor and stuck his wand in his hand. I thought about casting the spells with his wand but decided not to. The wand's memory would vanish anyway, Aurors wouldn't find him before a good while.

"Good luck, Montague. Be a man."

I undid the chain around the closest cage with a wave of my wand. The creature began shifting inside its prison at the sound of the frozen metal clinging and falling to the ground. Soon, the beast pushed the door open and locked its gaze one me.

"The girls say I'm a wonderful kisser." I quipped to the terrifying thing, to attract it. It probably didn't need that, I could feel its hunger for souls. It hovered to me ominously, its rotting hands reaching for me.

I enervated Montague just as the Dementor was sliding over him. He took a deep breath and sat up. The horrible creature jerked its head to him and plunged on him. Montague didn't even shout, already too affected by the aura of the beast, he emitted a weak whimper and went limp, the Dementor grabbed his head and started to feed. I saw the disgusting liquid drip on Montague's pale skin, a dark grey slimy substance. There wasn't much of it, but it would be enough.

"Accio saliva." I muttered, stretching a phial with my left hand. The revolting juice flew to me and started to fill the phial, just as the Dementor dropped the soulless puppet that had been Montague. It had finished its meal. I waited for the last few drops to come and spun around, running madly to get out of the forest.

_They'll think it was Montague on his own. They'll think he tried to do something stupid with the Dementor and failed. _I cursed aloud, the lightning spell wasn't anything anybody in the student body could do. _There's no way they'll guess what spell did that, all they have is a cooked wizard in a thousand pieces and another without any memory of the incident... Montague is a Slytherin and his fifth or sixth year, I don't even know but those one are likely to know dangerous spells._

I smiled faintly. At least they wouldn't have _anything _on me, I'd just Imperius a few housemates to get an alibi and that's it.

_Let's visit Alyson to celebrate._

* * *

**_...isolation and transmutation only, must ready the receptacle before pouring phoenix tears in. Very strong counter-reaction if unprepared Dementor saliva in contact with it._**

I stopped writing and bit the end of my quill. That was about all I would need to know for the ritual itself. The few tests I had conducted were clear enough for me. I hadn't reached all the possibilities of a reagent based on Dementor saliva for a Phoenix tear distillation, but the one Yevgeny had used was within my comprehension now. _This guys was a true genius, who know what kind of things we could pull off if it was common knowledge._ That was probably why rituals in general were considered dark. To limit the natural curiosity of mankind and avoid violating too many laws of Nature.

I nodded, proud of my work. It had taken days of preparation and all the tears and saliva I had harvested, but now I was certain on how to tackle the rest of my researches. I had worked on the Portal of Horus too, but now it was only rearranging runes from the burnt parchment I had and the memories of Jagdish stored in my mind. I could distinguish some of them on the anchors but the memory was hazy.

I walked back to the castle, taking my time, Louise behind me. It was my new thing, I'd Imperius Louise and make her follow me in the forest, monitor the place while I worked.

I had done this three or four times already. When people wondered where I was, they noticed Louise was also gone. And when I came back with her beside me, their suspicions were confirmed. The downside was that Louise had no idea of what was going on half the time. I had to keep her under the faintest control all the time.

I didn't like going in the forest too much lately, Aurors had invaded the place after a stray Dementor tried to attack students having a snowball fight near the lake.

At first four Aurors came, they took the subdued beast away and went into the Forest.

An hour later, half the Auror department was on Hogwarts' ground, establishing a security perimeter. No details had transpired at first but people started to point out the strange disappearance of Montague. Soon, a rumor ran, apparently Montague and two other guys had been found dead in the forest and that the incident was under investigation.

All this rumble forced me to do my experiment in another part of the forest, near my forge, and to make a big detour to reach it.

Once in the castle, I released most of my control on Louise and headed for the great hall. She found her personality back and started talking about things I didn't care about. Coming out of an unintrusive Imperius is like being in a dream, you don't quite remember how you got here and what you did, but you don't wonder about it.

We sat at the Hufflepuff table and Louise started eating and laughing with our housemates. I was sitting in front of Loren, the last seat available in this part of the table. She was laughing and putting slices of meat in her mouth. I stared at her.

I felt tired, exhausted. It was one of these moments where I felt unusually sober and lucid. I felt like I was waking up from a nightmare. But I knew the nightmare was about to continue when I'd close my eyes.

One of these moments where I remembered the numerous things I had sacrificed. To live happy and be a good guy. To love Loren. To not kill innocent people for no reason. I felt like giving up and stopping everything.

To bury those memories and try to live a normal life. I was worn out.

_But I have to go on, for Natasha._ The lighthouse in the tempest, the ray of sun in the ash cloud.

I forced myself to not look at Loren and eat, she had caught my stare two times already and would probably try to strike a conversation on the third time. She often tried. And it broke my heart to always reject her. _My decision has been taken, I won't play with her anymore. I don't deserve her._

As I was swallowing my dark thoughts with some beef, a clap echoed in the hall. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked around.

Dumbledore was standing and opening his arms to invite everyone to listen to him. He waited until everyone was silent.

"Witches and wizards, students of all three schools reunited before me, I make myself harbinger of sad news tonight." his eyes were indeed very sad.  
"The Aurors have investigated the crime scene thoroughly and came to a conclusion that I believe every each one of you should hear." he made a pause and turned to a yellow-dressed wizard beside him.  
"Mr. Bagman."

At that, he stepped back and sat down.

Bagman stood up nervously and cleared his throat. He unrolled a roll of parchment and started to read in an bureaucrat voice.

"The incident of the 23th November 1994 in the Forbidden Forest on Hogwarts territory." he announced, getting the attention of everyone.

I cringed, I really didn't want to be reminded of that right now.

"It is believed by the investigation squad that Mr. Graham Montague, aged fifteen years old and attending his fifth year in the Hogwarts School, have brutally murdered the following persons.

Mr. Miles Herrigton, aged thirty four years old and working for the Ministry of Magic of Britain, Dangerous Magical Creatures department.

Mr. Imran Khalil, aged seventy years old and working for the Ministry of Magic of Britain, Dangerous Magical Creatures department.

One of those murder is believed to have involved level two dark magic at least.

Mr. Graham Montague has performed a forbidden obliviation on two workers of the Ministry who wish to keep their names secret.

Mr. Graham Montague has tried to steal a Dementor from the ministry and was accidently kissed in his attempt, possibility of suicide is not rejected."

When he had stopped reading, the hall was even more silent than before. He seemed to notice how abruptly he had finished the reading.

"That is all." he added helpfully before sitting back down.

And then, the hall exploded.

"Level two dark magic? Holy shit!" shouted numerous students left and right.

"Oh my god! It's the Slytherin Quidditch captain!" squeaked a girl in my immediate neighborhood.

"He was kissed by a Dementor!" yelled a Gryffindor in case someone didn't hear right.

"Ban Slytherin from the school!" roared my brother's best red-haired friend, his fist in the air. Many approved and threw bits of bread to the Slytherin table, before Dumbledore calmed the chaos with a bang of his wand.

"Don't you ever hang around that Slytherin slut anymore!" ordered Priscillia, making place on the bench to sit next to me. She looked truly shaken. "She was friend with him!"

"No she wasn't, they treated her like shit because she slept with me." I explained.

"No matter, they're way too dangerous for you to be around them. Who knows what magic she might know! He was fifteen and cast level friggin two dark magic!" she shook me by the shoulders as I sighed.

"I'll do whatever I want, Priss."

"No, it's time someone puts her foot down, Harry." she retorted seriously. "You have your own little harem and I deal with it because you were always honest with me, but now it's enough. You won't see this bitch anymore. Promise me."

I wanted to punch her in the face and watch her body be sent sprawling over the table, but I opted for the verbal punch.

"I'll see whoever I damn please, and if you can't deal with it, you can walk the fuck away." I whispered angrily before leaving. I wasn't in the mood for this and I really couldn't care about her.

_Just walk away from me, at least you lose the risk of getting cursed for my twisted pleasure, or worse. _I thought, remembering the time I had slipped and cursed Trix with painful dark magic during sex, unable to stop myself.

I remembered what the Hat had said. _I know you have the potential of a great wizard, be it light or dark, Harry, but should I let you destroy yourself and others in your foolish quest of bringing your dead sister back?_

_Is it even about Natasha anymore?_ I wanted to answer yes, but I knew it wasn't entirely true. I had done a lot of things that I should regret and that had nothing to do with my quest. I had digressed a lot.

I shook my head, it was too late to think about that now, anyway.

_It doesn't matter, as long as I end up bringing her back._

_I'll bring her back._

* * *

**_AN: Is Harry even the good guy anymore? I don't know myself, tell me what you think._**

**_Amazing review greenisacolortoo, thank you for taking the time. About the Deathly Hallows a few of you are wondering about, I didn't include them because I completely forgot about the Resurrection Stone. I should probably fix it somehow, but it's too late now and would stick out like a sore thumb, so I thought I'd just let the reader make up their own explanations. It's bad I know, but I can't see a better way now.  
_**


	13. Chapter 13

**.**

**Too Young to Die.**

**.**

**Chapter 13.**

**.**

* * *

I looked around myself and breathed intensely, preparing myself for the chaos I was about to unleash. The trees and bushes were covered in snow and a thin layer of frost, everything was of either pure white or morose grey, the colours of the forest seemed to have been taken away for the winter.

But I would bring them back to life, I would melt all the snow and ice around me, in a few moments. _Not right now._ I thought, taking a few more deep breaths. I needed my spirit to be calm, in contrast with my magic. I was about to summon Fiendfyre once more, and this time it would bow before me. I had tried a lot of times now and I knew it would work this time.

A cold gust of air blew my cloak and robes, making them billow behind me like a dark omen.

_Now_. I was ready.

I raised my wand before me and started gathering my magic in my heart, I sorted it, processed it until I clearly had the infernal beast roaring within me.

I uttered the forbidden words under my breath, the tension building up as I felt my skin gain in temperature.

"...Ego mutuum Fiendfyre!" I finished in a shout. I knew the sensation quite well now, the tingling and fury of the fire sprouting from every inch of my skin, licking my clothes without burning them, swirling around me like a furious tornado before exploding in an enormous wolf of flames and anger. The living fire slammed its paws against the floor, melting the snow and consuming the grass instantly, digging trenches in the earth from its weight, a monster of heavy fire and incandescent magic. It roared, like it always did. A thunderous roar that led a few hundred birds to take off in fright and probably chased away a lot of the fauna around us. A roar that conveyed so much heat that the frozen trees in front of it were instantly dried, smoking with steam.

I knew it quite well, but I didn't dare give it a name. It would tell me its name when it would bow. The book didn't mention anything about such a thing, but I felt it. It was my magic, and it had a name.

"_Bow_." I commanded, not losing time admiring its golden fur.

It turned to me and growled, its barred teeth of magma looking murderous, his flaming muscles tensing as if it was about to leap on me. Being dozens of yards wide and ten times bigger than me, it definitely wouldn't need to leap to reach me.

It leaned forward to lock its bottomless pits on my eyes, but something attracted its attention. It slammed its paw against the earth on my left, shaking the ground heavily. My eyes caught what was the source of this sudden excitement, a spell fizzled in the fire and vanished, burned to nothing. Fiendfyre could burn _everything_.

I frantically looked around, seeking the provenance of the spell.

_'Set me free. Let me reap those souls.' _it growled in my head. I was unprepared for the blow and took its power at full force. I dropped on a knee and winced. _Good try._

Not trusting myself to resist another of its commands, I gathered my magic and vanished it away. "Furor est complevit."

I didn't lose any time looking at the magnificent fire disperse in the wind, I went back to searching the source of that spell, my heart beating madly. _Did they already get away?_

I swore loudly. Someone had seen me, if they got away, it was all over. _Fat chances, I know this place better than anyone._

I started to run to the castle, widening my vision and leaping like a crazed deer over tree trunks and rivers. I was fast, agile and I knew my way better than the person I was chasing. I found them after five minutes of insane racing. Zachary, Hermione and Ron. _Should have known they were plotting something when I heard they stayed for the winter break._

They were running as fast as their limbs could propel them, I heard them panting loudly and trying to communicate without losing speed.

"...don't fear him, Hermione! If they don't believe us we'll have no proof!" yelled Zach, tripping over a hidden twig under the snow and stabilizing himself with difficulty, not breaking his run for a second.

"Fiendfyre! Freaking Fiendfyre, Zachary! Are you nuts? That's level one dark magic! He's way beyond any of us, we need to tell Dumbledore, right now!"  
Hermione was definitely the most shaken by what they had seen. _Probably the only one who understand how close they were from death. Were? Are._

Their red-haired buddy didn't say anything, he was panting heavily and barely followed them, his face more red than his hair.

I whipped my wand and shot a stunner to Hermione, jumping over a lump of snow probably hiding a bush. She screamed and dove in the snow, her momentum too great for her to stop. My stunner went over her and smashed a tree as she slid in the white material and crashed in a bush.

"Fuck! He's already here!" shouted Zach, trying to stop himself to assist Hermione. She was aware of her precarious situation and sprang on her legs, her wand pointed at me, a terrified look on her face.

"Potter! Drop your wand!" she yelled, definitely shitting in her pants. I snickered and doused her with a chain of banishers and cutters. She stopped them with a unexpectedly good battle level shield, behind her Zachary jumped over a rock and sent a few stunners and incarceration curse to me. I swatted half of them aside and dived under the other half, cursing my lack of protection. The simplest stunner could take me down.

"Surrender, Harry! You can't win against three of us!" he tried, sending another stunner to my prone form. I conjured a wooden shield and summoned a dead tree from behind them. Hermione spun around and banished the tree away. I took advantage of her change of focus and sent a ball of conjured water on Zach before firing a series of _Kroz Sve _to her calf and thigh. Zach vanished the water and transfigured a bush into a crude dog as the perforation curses tore into Hermione's calf and thigh. She screamed to death and fell to the ground, three two inches wide clean tunnel were now going through her flesh, blood spraying on the snow around her. She quickly went into shock, her mouth started to foam as she was having heavy spasms, throwing bits of bloody snow around.

Zach turned his head to her but didn't lose his cool. I cut the transfigured dog in half with a silent _Secaferox_ in the mouth, it felt on the ground in two pieces and transformed back in the bush it once was.

"Ron! Take care of her, I'll take care of Harry!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, in spite of having Ron just beside him while he blocked the cutting curse with a battle level shield. The ginger boy decided it was his time to shine and shouted madly, jabbing his wand to me with all the anger he felt.

"Son of a bitch!" he bellowed instead of an incantation, ignoring Zach's orders and sending a messed up spell which was probably more dangerous than any curse he knew, I sidestepped the malformed curse and aimed for my twin, a step behind the charging Ron, who was unprepared for this turn of event.

"Lamina Confluunt." Two dozen silver blades appeared around him in the sky, no bigger than kitchen knives, gleaming in the shy winter sun. I took a step and punched Ron in the stomach, sending him flying back to Zach, his breath cut and ribcage destroyed. The blades nose-dived toward my twin, whistling threateningly as they swiftly approached their target. He cast a thick shield on his front, allowing Ron to slid under it and managed to conjure a large wooden plate just in time to protect his back. The blades stabbed the wood and bounced on the shield, shattering it. Three blades hit their target, on in Ron's arm and two in Zach's thigh and waist.

I was standing and ready to send my next spell, immersed in my very own pool of madness and exquisite perverse bliss, shuddering slightly at each hiccup of dark magic feedback.

"Aleraeno Vultimacum." I muttered tenderly, aiming for Zach. He was exhausted, out of breath and a wincing painfully as he clutched his heavily bleeding side, I had hit a kidney. He tried to shield it but the curse broke through the weak protection, not even slowing down. He took it in the guts and fell back. His skin started to shred slowly, forcefully leaving his flesh as he thrashed and howled agonizingly in the snow, his inhuman screams echoing in the silent forest.

Ron stood up painfully, his ribcage caved in from my punch and a blade stuck in his left arm, whiter than the few patches of untainted snow around us, and raised his wand to me in a desperate attempt.

"Confringo!' he shouted, spluttering blood from his punctured lungs. I dove to the side as the snow a few feet from me exploded in a hail of burning-hot pebbles and earth lumps. _Motherfucker almost got me!_

I sprang on my feet and jabbed my wand viciously at his slowly fainting shape.

"Want to see a real explosion curse, Weasley? Zahladit!" I bellowed madly, still in my battle trance. The curse connected on the ground just beside Ron. The following explosion sent the corpses of Zach and his girlfriend rolling in purer snow, the blast caught me too but I kept my ground, watching the burning Weasley boy fly and crash on a rock. Fate may had had other plans than mine for him because he fell in a river of freezing water, killing the fire eating his crippled body.

I shivered slightly as the last bits of the revolting ecstasy left my bloodstream and opened my eyes. The dark explosion curse had positively melted the snow where it had hit and had left a smoking crater in the earth beneath it.

I trotted to the two bleeding corpses buried in snow and checked their pulse. Hermione's magical body had stopped the hemorrhage on its own and was still alive, for the moment. Zach had no skin left and was unconscious. The skin shredding curse had done its work completely, his red flesh was exposed and in direct contact with the snow, he was soon to plunge in hypothermia. The knife wounds weren't lethal, blood had clotted around the blades, closing most of the cuts. His pulse was as weak as Hermione's.

I stood up and sighed. If I didn't do anything, they'd just die here.

I walked to the river and levitated Ron out of it, he was the most fucked up, obviously. His left arm and leg had been blown out, literally torn away from his body and probably in numerous pieces somewhere in the surroundings. His whole left side had been heavily burned and ripped by the explosions, a few white strips were visible in the charred flesh, his bones. I checked his pulse just to be sure.

"Jesus Christ, you're still alive." I muttered to the crippled kid. I levitated him next to the two others. His pulse was very faint, a lot weaker than any of them. He would die within the half hour, wizard or not, if I didn't do anything to help him.

_I guess I could anonymously tell Pomfrey about them, that would cause a shitstorm but at least they'd survive... _I thought, wondering at the same time why I wanted them to survive. _If Zach dies, I'm in for a whole lot of trouble, that's for sure. James and Dumbledore will go to the bottom of it and I won't like what they'll find, not to mention the spotlight that would put me under as the brother of the Martyr of Light or some shit. No, Zach is an efficient diversion, I need him alive._

I nodded, there was really only one solution. _If you guys survive the Ennervate, you live._

I ennervated Hermione first, she slowly opened her eyes, numb and unable to move. She would blackout in a few seconds.

"Obliviate." I entered her mind and erased it. I erased the last six month of her life, to be sure. I didn't bother doing it properly, I plainly erased _everything_. It was one of the way to make a memory totally irretrievable. A total blank space, if she'd ever wake up after that, she'll have no memory of the last six months at all. _I don't know for how long you've been following and plotting against me, six months seem like a safe shot._

Zach tried to scream in pain as soon as his nerves awakened, I silenced him with the same obliviation curse and stunned him behind it.

Ron took two tries to crawl back out of unconsciousness and gibbered a few nonsensical words, his lungs pumping gurgling blood in his throat, before I flattened his memory. He fell back into coma as soon as I had finished.

I straightened my clothes and looked around. My cave was on the other side of the forest, it was safe to lure the Aurors here, even with a few traces of Fiendfyre at twenty minutes from here, they wouldn't know it was Fiendfyre anyway, they could only guess. _Who are they going to blame? _I thought about all the things going on this year and smiled faintly, they wouldn't look at me first.

I headed out of the forest, running rapidly. There was the possibility that they told someone they were going after me, but I was almost certain they didn't. Zach wasn't this type of guy, that's why those three were always together in all their adventures and never with other people.

I got out of the forest disillusioned and enchanted a letter to fly to Pomfrey while walking to Library. **_Potter and his friends are dying. Forbidden Forest, 15km in from south east, near water stream. Be quick._**

The message was written in standard font and conjured ink, untraceable. It flew away as I dropped my disillusionment.

I spotted the lone girl I was looking for in a secluded corner the library, reading an herbology book.

"Hey Isabel! How is it hanging?" I asked, flashing her a bright smile while I sat down. Isabel Neilina was one of those reserved Ravenclaws, a year older than me. I had a quick discussion with her on a Potion essay when she was helping Rosaline in the great hall. I had butted in and corrected her on a few things, she disagreed with me and that had led to a heated debate. Since this day I greeted her from time to times and talked with her when I had the time.

"Harry. Fancy seeing you there." she smiled. She was kind of cute, with her brown hair and freckles on her cheeks.

"Tell me, you've been here for the whole afternoon?" I knew she often spent hours here, without anyone to disturb her. It was her favorite corner, between two bookshelves.

"Affirmative, what about it?"

"Saw anyone?"

"Nah, nobody comes to these shelves, you know it." she answered in a bored tone. The books in this section were fiction and kid tales. I shrugged. _Perfect, I can Imperius her to say she was with me the whole afternoon, just in case._ She had been my B plan for a while, I knew she was here most of the time.

"Cool, just asking. Imperio." I said casually, barely moving my wand. She blinked twice and smiled, returning to her book. _The perfect crime._

I sat in front of her and summoned a random book from the shelves.

_A good fiction is just what I need._ I peered at the cover,_ Starwolves_. _A muggle science fiction book... let's give it a shot._

After a couple hours of peaceful reading and occasional smiles exchanges with Isabel, we headed to the great hall, making sure to be noticed by Madam Pince on the way out and discussing what we've been reading. Isabel was very curious about the strange story of intergalactic battles I was telling to her and decided to try muggle books too. We reached the Hufflepuff table and I offered her a seat next to me to continue our discussion. It wasn't too unusual for students to eat at other tables, there just wasn't much people who had reasons to.

She accepted and sat down as I shook the hand of a few housemates.

"Hey Smith. Nice to see you Sullivan." I looked at the main table. Dumbledore wasn't here, that wasn't unusual. However, Snape, McGonagall, the giant Hagrid, Sprout, Flitwick and a few others were missing too, and that was highly unusual.

"What's up with the professor table? Why are there so few tonight?" I asked to Lynn in front of me.

"We still don't know, but it has to do with the Forbidden Forest again. I think there has been a new killing." he muttered darkly.

"What? What the hell happened?" I feigned surprise, I was meant to have spent the whole afternoon with Isabel, after all.

"Oh, right, Harry wasn't with us. Where were you anyway?" said Priscillia, butting in the discussion and eyeing my escort suspiciously. I pointed a thumb to Isabel, inviting her to elaborate for me.

"He was with me the whole afternoon." she answered, taking a chicken wing from the plate.

"So, how did you find him? Was it your first time?" spat Priscillia with a fake smile that was obviously drenched in disgust.

"We read books. Promise I didn't touch your boyfriend." replied Isabel with a blush. _And here it goes again._

"Ladies, please chill out and explain me what the hell happened."

Louise arrived behind me and took it on herself to enlighten me as she sat down next to me, pushing Smith aside ruthlessly.

"A ton of Aurors arrived on broom and landed next to the Death Forest, Dumbledore and all the head of house are here too, we don't know yet why but they made the Beauxbaton and Durmstrang students enter the castle and locked us all inside." she shrugged.

"We can't get out, I think someone else got killed."

"I thought Montague got kissed and it was over." I pretended to look for links that weren't here.

"Might be totally unrelated, but wait -" she stood up. I turned around to look where she was looking. There was a small commotion at the Gryffindor table, students were talking loudly and standing up to reach each other.

"What's going on?" asked Lynn.

Priscillia got up and went to the agitated Gryffindors, soon coming back with a grave look on her eyes, looking worriedly at me.

"Zachary Potter and his friends aren't here." she stated without stopping staring at me. "The whole castle is here, but not them."

"Merlin! Do you think they're..." started Louise, slapping her hand on her mouth and turning to me.

At this moment, the door creaked loudly and a grim Dumbledore in marine blue robes strode to the center of the professor platform, gathering every pair of eyes on him without making a move. He stopped in the middle of the platform and turned to the student body.

"As many of you already know, there has been an incident in the Forbidden Forest." he began, scanning the room with harsh eyes.

"And as most of you have noticed, Zachary Potter, Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley won't attend to the feast tonight." the crowd started to murmur loudly, sharing theories and frightened gasps.

"The details are not to be publicly announced yet, but the family members of Mr. Weasley and Mr. Potter are invited to follow me for a thorough explanation." he finished before turning away and heading for the door he just came thought.

I looked at my housemates, who were staring at me.

"I should go."

They nodded and wished me good luck. In the corridor behind Dumbledore, I joined the Weasley twins and a red-headed witch I had yet to meet. Dumbledore was striding quickly, not bothering with the grandfatherly attitude anymore. He was pissed, I could tell. _I know what Trix tells him on me, I don't have to fear his wrath, he doesn't think of me like a soon to be dark wizard. Might want to avoid using too much Occlumency, though._

"Long time no see, guys." I greeted the twins. They nodded absently and continued to follow the old man silently.

"Hey, I'm Ginny." claimed the witch. _Oh right, the basilisk girl._ I quickly scanned her from head to toes, natural red-hair, petite body and cute face, obviously the energetic style, even in this worrying moment. _Fourteen maximum, probably under._ I couldn't remember ever seeing or hearing about her except for that basilisk story back in second year. _Thirteen, surely._

"Harry, pleased to meet you." I answered with a quick smile, making sure to not speak too loud. The others seemed quite nervous about the situation.

"Never seen your cute face around here, Gryffindor?" I asked, ignoring her badge. It was always a way to strike conversation, only Ravenclaws responded by "oh really? so I _did_ put the right badge!" and walked away muttering things about the moron you were.

She giggled nervously and nodded.

"Yep, like the whole family. I'm a Weasley, just in case you didn't get it."

"Weasleys usually aren't pretty witches, it's confusing." I quipped and took advantage of a quick eye contact to read her. She was really concerned, more that I had thought at first.  
"Sorry, it isn't really the time to flirt." I admitted and turned back to the racing Dumbledore, he was taking us to his office.

"Yeah, I hope they're alright." she blushed lightly at my open declaration of wanting to flirt with her and stayed silent.

"Don't worry, they always put themselves in incredible predicaments and come back unscathed." I assured her, this time talking a bit louder so Dumbledore would hear me. _Hear that old man? I currently have no idea of how badly wounded is her brother_. I snickered internally and recalled the burnt and crippled corpse of Ron. _Shit, he may even be dead, there's no telling Pomfrey got here in time..._

The headmaster stopped in front of the statues and whispered a word in their ear, beckoning us to follow him. We entered the office and sat on the four armchair he summoned for us. The twins had lost their usual silliness and were waiting for the news to come, my new soon-to-be-seduced witch was nervously shifting in her seat, unstable. I kept an unreadable face on, not looking too distanced but not too panicked either.

Dumbledore sat on his desk, facing us. His face was tired and serious, he started to speak with a solemn voice.

"There had been an attack on Zachary and his friends. The three of them were brutally assaulted in the forest by an unknown -"

"What were they doing in the forest in the first place? Isn't this forest _forbidden_?" I cut him, pretending to be anxious for my brother.

"We don't know yet, Harry. The three of them are alive, but there are... complications."

"What do you mean?" queried the twins at the same time. I almost let out a laugh. _Oops, that is funny only when nobody's between life and death, Harry._

"The attack was very vicious and violent, dark magic have been used and Ronald... Ronald lost an arm and a leg." he finished in a sigh.

"Oh my god!" squeaked Ginny. The twin just turned to each other and swallowed with difficulty.

"Molly and Arthur are with him at St Mungo's, I will floo you there in a minute."

"What about Zachary and the girl?" I asked, to keep appearances.

"Can't they grow back his arm and leg?" blurted out Ginny in a scared voice.

"Zachary and Hermione are in a better condition, they are being treated in the Hospital wing right now. And I'm sorry, miss Weasley, but dark magic make wounds that cannot be healed like any wound, I'm afraid we cannot be sure of anything at this point."

"What about the attacker? Who did it?" I pressed him.

"We are investigating, Harry, they are still in a coma but we think Miss Granger will soon be awake. Your parents are in the infirmary, if you wish to see them and your brother."

I nodded.

"I only ask you not to spread the story yet, we must find out what happened first." he turned to the twins, "I will floo you to St Mungo's, you may leave, Harry." he walked to the fireplace and grabbed a purse.

I stood out of the armchair and placed my hand on Ginny's shoulder when I passed past her, to make her feel a bit of my aura_. Once they taste it, they always came back, in one way or another._

"I'm sorry, Ginny." She mouthed an automatic thank you and I left the office.

_That went well, I acted my surprised role to the perfection and got a new witch to seduce. She's a bit young but there aren't many red-hair around, and she has that little something of innocent and forbidden that drive the dark Harry nuts._

I was in the Hospital wing in no time, Pomfrey opened the door to me and led me to the end of the room, where James and Lily were having a heated discussion with McGonagall, Snape and a few Aurors. There seemed to be two specialist healers in the group. They only shot me a glance before going back to the debate as I walked to my brother. He was naked, save for a boxer, and floating in a round shaped transparent jelly lump, placed on a bed. His skin was in the process of re-growing and was still very thin and pale, I could see the veins and muscles clearly underneath it.

"What the hell..." I muttered, just in case someone actually paid attention to my reaction. One of the two white-dressed doctors left the group and walked in front of me, on the other side of the bed. He prodded the jelly ball with his fingers and took a teated pipette out of a phial. He dipped a few drops over the construction and discarded the tool.

"He's been hit by heavy dark magic, a skin-shredding curse. We couldn't undo the curse because he was too weak to cooperate when we found him, so his body has absorbed the curse and will keep it active until we can counter it. The bubble he's in negate the effects of the curse and heal his skin, this way he can recover enough until we can definitely cancel the curse." he explained helpfully.

I had to admit I had no idea this curse could be such a pain in the arse to heal if you didn't counter it before fainting. I displayed the most horrified face I could do and conjured a stool to sit on.

"Yes, it has been a brutal encounter, your brother can consider himself lucky to be alive." he concluded.

"Lucky to be alive? More like happy to be alive, this has nothing to do with luck. The attacker willingly left him breathing and went out of their way to warn Madam Pomfrey!" yelled James, looking at McGonagall, apparently it was one of the arguments in the debate.  
"What was the point of letting him live? Why would anyone hurt him so badly and let him live to tell the tale? I'm telling you, there is someone disturbed lurking in that forest! We need to patrol this place, to examine every square meter of it and find out just what the hell is killing people!"

"The first series of attacks has already been explained, one of our student tried to steal a Dementor and was kissed by the thing, this has nothing to do with the Forest!" countered McGonagall, her tidy hair loosening as she shook her head in frustration.  
"Such amounts of dark magic are not even in the restricted section of Hogwarts' library, however, we can't say the same about Durmstrang."

"Durmstrang would know better than to openly attack Potter, Minerva." retorted Snape.

"That wasn't _in the open_, Severus. I think they wanted to threaten Potter and scare him out of the Tournament, and it got out of hand."

"You're ignoring the fact that the Serbian dark perforation curse cast on miss Granger is something very obscure that even Durmstrang doesn't teach, Minerva. Do I need to remind you that we had a student hurt by the exact same curse a few years ago? That is no coincidence." he muttered angrily.

"It could be ,Severus, or are you implying one of your Slytherin is responsible for that?" she hissed back.

"My _Slytherins_ would know better than to do something that stupid, as opposed to a jealous Gryffindor! But we digress, it is always the same question: to whom benefits the crime? A Durmstrang student would have killed them at this point, letting them live makes the attack pointless."

"They could have let them live simply out of sympathy, not everyone is able of cold blooded murder, Snape." suggested James. They all stopped talking after that, thinking about it silently.

After a moment, one of the Auror spoke, a skeptical smirk on his lips.

"To cast a level three dark curse, the man's probably killed already. I've seen few rookies wannabe dark wizards able of pulling off that level of magic."

"I know for a fact that they do teach the Hail of Blades curse in the last year of Durmstrang." added Snape, still in contemplation.

"We don't know yet what spell they used to blow the Weasley up, but let me tell you it wasn't anything short of level three dark magic either. Did you _see_ that boy?" muttered the second Auror. They all winced at that and let silence invade the room. I had been listening mutely all this time, looking at Zach in his jelly bubble.

Suddenly, there was a small gasp. A sharp intake of air from the bed behind Zachary. Hermione had awaken.

The adults all rushed to her, the white-dressed wizards first, with Pomfrey at the head.

"Whe-Where am I?" she moaned faintly, squinting her eyes. I walked around the floating Zach and found an opening to get a look at her. She was quite well, her skin was pale but she looked healthy. _I only bore a few holes in her leg after all, she's the least hurt one. I'm a real gentleman._

"Slowly, Ms. Granger, don't rush things. Breathe deeply."

"What h-happened?" she looked at the Aurors around her worriedly.

"Miss Granger, what is the last thing you remember?"

She took a long time to answer, mining her mind and walking down the path of six months worth of void.

"I was... I was reading a book and was called for dinner by my mother... and after that..." she trailed off, staring at the nothingness in front of her.  
"That's it, after that I woke up here."

I congratulated myself for the clean deleting of the massive chunk of memory as the Auror glanced at each other and shook their heads.

"What date, Ms. Granger? What is the last date you remember?"

"Well we're the... I mean we were the 18th of July if I recall right, what happened?" she answered before her eyes widened comically.  
"My parents! Oh god are my parents alright?" she panicked and tried to get out of the bed, only to wince and be pushed back in the bed by one of the white wizards.

"They are alright, please do not leave the bed, your leg is still rebuilding itself."

While Pomfrey briefed Hermione on the situation, Dumbledore arrived and got informed about the news.

"All champions refused Veritaserum, only Mr. Diggory volunteered, as expected." he declared disappointingly.

"We can't force it on them until we have real evidence."

"Fat chance of finding anything else, with those erased minds." laughed the fat Auror without humor.

"I will open my doors and let the Auror interview as much students or staff member as they need, Lord Karkaroff and Madam Maxime both agreed to have their students thoroughly questioned on the matter too. We will find out what happened, James."

"How's Ronald Weasley?"

At that, Dumbledore shook his head, a sinister look on his features.

"Dark explosion curse, his limbs are nowhere to be found and his flesh is tainted forever... he'll be disfigured and amputee for life with the care they can afford, the Weasley family is going to need more financial help than ever, James."

James nodded darkly.

"To do that to children... If I ever find this son of a bitch..." he muttered furiously.

For the moment, nobody had paid attention to me, and I intended to keep it like that. I left the Hospital room in silence, when it looked like all the useful information had been shared already, at the same time as the Aurors and Ministry healers, leaving Pomfrey, James, Dumbledore and the head of houses to brood on their own. They were going to investigate inside the castle itself, that meant they were going to interview everyone, sniff all over the dormitories and explore every inch of the castle to find tracks.

_All of my dark stuff is in a hidden compartment in my trunk or in my endless satchel, they don't have the rights to look in there but I might want to move it to the cave. _I knew the cave was safe, even if James decided to take a hike and explore the forest, it was too dense, huge and magical for him to find my cave, which was especially well hidden.

_When they'll ask they'll find about me being in the library, Madam Pince, Isabel and even my Housemates will confirm. _I was unreachable, my tracks were covered perfectly.

I sighed a relieving breath as I walked to my dormitory. _The next few weeks will be complicated... Might want to drop the researches for a while and focus on the girls._ I still had almost a year before the meeting with Zephyros and Victor to open the portal, I could let it go for a while, especially with all of what was happening.

As I entered my dormitory and got assaulted by everyone for answers, I chuckled at one thought.

_What would it have been if I had simply let them die._

* * *

The Aurors had now been sniffing around for four months.

Their inspection had several phases. On one hand, they tested everybody with a detection spell that assured of one's purity. Lose your virginity or touch dark magic and you fail the test, that seemed to be useful only to discard the kids. On another hand, they questioned everyone as they pleased, to find who was alone and had no alibi for the night of the attack. They also rummaged through the personal stuff of everyone, causing quite a commotion in the pureblood world and the Ministry.

They were still discussing the Auror's rights to do that, but while no decision was taken, they took advantage of having no restrictions. Purebloods and most of Slytherin were really pissed by all of that, but Aurors didn't give a crap, they went in like a troll in a maiden.

Zach had awakened a week after Hermione and was now perfectly fine. I hadn't planned it but he had no memories of our confrontation in Godric's Hollow. James had used a pensive to give him what he could on the time that had flowed, all his training for the tournament, all the experience of the two firsts tasks, he had lost all of it and was a fresh new still-thirteen-and-untrained Zachary, except for his magic muscle who had been worked on.

Of course, they had found nothing on me. They started at the seventh years and went gradually down the age line, but when Zach gained back a few of his memories from James, he insisted for me to be checked twice and at the instant. They had forced my trunk open, under my protestations, and found nothing. They had questioned everyone around me and checked my alibi for mind alteration with a detection spell, fruitless since I had used the Imperius, something way too subtle to be noticed by it when applied correctly. This spell was made for Confusion Charms and other Compulsion Curses. _Thanks Merlin I had the good idea of moving all my things to the forge._

Over half a thousand students analyzed and sorted either "innocent" or "suspicious" later, they were going through the third years. The school staff was also being investigated, as were the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons delegations, but I had no information on how that was advancing.

"Did you notice any unusual behavior in one of your friends? Could have been something very faint." asked the blond Auror, his tone gentle and understanding.

"No I didn't." answered Ginny. I was sitting beside her and holding her hand. I had nothing else to do anyway, all my books and researches were unreachable, so I spent my new free time doing the only thing that came close to the pleasure of dark magic - sex. And trying to taint a young and pure one like the little Weasley was exciting in so many ways. She wanted to act grown up and to flirt like a fifth year would, but she was still a ignorant third year, she blushed and stuttered everytime I looked in her eyes and squirmed madly when I was too close. I didn't kiss her yet, I wanted it to come all at once, when she'd expect it the least.

On the meantime, I had enough witches on my hands to not be bored. Slytherin, Gryffindor and even Ravenclaw and of course Hufflepuff were my hunting fields. I had slept with a couple French witches too, and it had been _grand_. They had that little thing of natural savoir-faire underneath their naive exterior that no experienced English witch could hope to imitate. Durmstrang, on the other hand, was impenetrable. I had spotted a few foxes in their delegation but I couldn't hook any of them. _I guess they're used to that touch of dark magic and are more resistant to it._ I had thought at first, but judging by the hungry looks some had shot me, I changed my opinion and decided that they just wouldn't speak to me by respect for their Durmstrang rules or maybe fear of what would the blood purists around them think. _Oh well._

The lack of dark magic use made me constantly uneasy, not having quite the headache I had from Hellard, but a troubled fog always in my mind, a cold haze frostbiting my brain. My body itself felt sore, drained of its vital fluid, numb and painful at times. I could thankfully forget most of it when I wallowed in food and sex, living an hedonist life to ease my addicted body. I knew it wasn't a rehab, there was no such thing as a rehab for a dark magic practitioner, the closest thing to it was called Azkaban.

"I know this has been asked numerous times, but are you absolutely certain there is nothing your brother could have said that could help us?"

She shook her head and tightened her grasp on my hand. Ronald Weasley was utterly and completely destroyed. His skin on all the left side of his body was a mix of meaty red and revolting grey-beige, his face hadn't been spared either, half his scalp was missing, his left eye unusable and the left part of his mouth literally welded shut. His limbs had been obliterated by the explosion, they found a few pieces here and there but it was impossible to put them back anyway, like it was impossible for him to grow them back even with the most complex mix of skele-grow and other body regeneration potions. _Zahladit_ was quite the dark spell, not used often because of its weak power for an explosion curse but the flesh it touched was badly and irreversibly tainted. _A ritual could probably do the job, though. A Phoenix Tears concoction with King's Herb and Sea Dragon Scales, a few lizards to sacrifice and an incantation on something about the Nordic Gods and the salvation of an innocent victim, a few octagons drawn in fairy powder, maybe quartz for anchors..._

"Alright, I'm going to ask you to-" started the Auror, only to be interrupted by a yellow glow on his forearm. He looked at it and pressed his thumb against the small golden framed mirror on his wrist. The strange bracelet stopped glowing and displayed a head, where there had been a mirror, like a moving picture.  
"Auror Ramsey, listening."

"To all the units in Hogwarts Castle, abort all operations and gather on second floor; I repeat, abort operations and gather on second floor." commended the head in a firm voice before disappearing. The blond Auror looked at us with a serious face.

"We found something." he stood up and greeted us before leaving hurriedly. _What the hell could they find? Second floor? Not even my pepper-up stash is up there..._

"Let's go, Harry!" pressed Ginny, trying to pull me out of my chair. "Second floor is just here!"

"They won't let us get a look, Ginny."

"Let's at least try, c'mon!" she insisted with a whiny voice.

I sighed.  
"Alright."

We walked to the second floor stairway, Ginny dragging me excitedly, and were stopped by a bunch of Aurors who apparently stayed on the stairs just to block curious students. I wanted to know what they had found, but at the same time I was afraid to know it. With so many Aurors around I had no chances to make a run for it, I'd step directly on the "go to jail" square.

"Let us see! We're family members of the victims!" yelled Ginny frantically, stomping on the ground. The Aurors seemed unsure of what to do, I leaped in the mind of the closest one. They didn't have any specific order about family members.

"Listen, my dad's in here, if he doesn't want me around he'll just kick me back here, alright?"

"You're the Potter son? Well I guess I can let you two go but don't mess with them, it's heavy stuff up there from what I heard." he stepped aside and let us climb the stairs. We got on the second floor and zigzagged between the Aurors standing in the corridor, nobody seemed to have much to do, they just stood there and talked to each other excitedly, most of them sporting worried or shocked faces. We reached the center of the commotion, where a few items were being analyzed by Aurors and specialists in the corridor.

"I can't believe we're placing MadEye as prime suspect, I mean, really? MadEye?"

"He's acting really weird, I think he lost it - for real this time."

We learned on the trip by hearing various Aurors that professor Moody was under heavy examination, the big trunk being prodded by four wand was his, as were all the other items on the floor. Suddenly, a loud sound resounded in the corridor, followed by manly roars and battle sounds. A distinctive noise of glass exploding followed by two spells breaking against Hogwarts' stone echoed in our ears as every Aurors hurried, wands in hand. I dragged Ginny with me, pushed by the crowd of Aurors and got a glance in professor Moody's office, where the sounds came from.

We were just in time to see James and a black skinned Auror send Moody crashing against the wall, his wand clattering at their feet. James was bleeding and holding his ribs, and the second Auror quickly countered a dark strangulation curse, a big black snake made of what looked like smoke coiling around his neck. The snake vanished and he turned to the Aurors beside me.

"A healer, quick! James took a heavy cutter in the ribs!" he barked, turning to Moody who was getting back on his feet. He produced a secondary wand from his boot and snarled madly, rising his wand in a slashing motion. James didn't let him the chance to cast anything, he sent a mage-level bludgeoner to his thorax. The man took it and slammed against the wall, his bones cracking violently - blood spurted from his mouth and he slumped to the floor like a wet sock.

The black Auror turned to the crowd again.

"He's under Polyjuice, get the antidote and a healer, we must not lose him!" he barked again, summoning the wand from the slowly dying fake professor. He was drawing long stifled and gurgling breaths, trying to grasp the floor with his hands as he choked on his blood. _He was probably protected from disarming and stunning, or James wouldn't have attacked him that brutally_. I thought, before I looked at James. He looked murderous, on the threshold of insanity, his eyes wide open and his teeth barred. _Maybe I overestimated James' ability to stay calm in any situation, interesting._

"Who are you? Why did you do that?" he growled, advancing threateningly to the prone form of the dying unknown wizard.  
"Why did you attack my son?" he barked, sputtering on the face of the grinning man. He was grinning. He slowly opened his mouth and spoke with malice through his collapsed throat.

"My... master will soon... be back... and your Savior... will perish." he coughed a laugh and caught a punch in the nose from James.

"Step back, James!" bellowed Kingsley - I remembered him now, I had already seen him somewhere. He grabbed the rabid James by the shoulders and forcefully dragged him back. The healers helped him and started to work on the wound, James was still ominously staring at the laughing wizard on the floor.

Kingsley forced the antidote down the fake Moody's throat unceremoniously and stepped back. The transformation occurred slowly, bones cracking painfully as the destroyed skeleton of the man tried to make sense out of itself. He screamed in pain for a while and puked a good gallon of blood and bile, now returned to his original but still dying body.

"Barty Crouch Junior..." whispered Kingsley in disbelief. "How? Why?" he muttered slowly.

Crouch laughed again, a psychotic laughter, the insane mirth that I knew so well, the creeping madness of dark magic. His breath stopped after a while and he started to close his eyes, his body numbing suddenly.

"Legilimens!" roared James, his wand pointed at the dead man, just before he finished to exhale his last breath. It was highly illegal to use Legilimency like that, even for Aurors, but nobody in the room would stop him or complain about the procedure violation.

He lowered his wand and blinked after a second of staring at the corpse.

"What did you see, James?" queried Kingsley, eyeing Ginny and me curiously and frowning. He had only noticed there were kids in the room now.

"He... he is the one who put the name in the cup... I'm not sure but it looked like a complex plot, there was more to it than what I saw." he muttered, stroking his forehead. The healers had almost finished healing his gash.

"And the attack in the forest?"

He shook his head.

"Definitely him, but I didn't see anything about it, he died too soon."

He stayed silent after that, Kingsley took a seat and sighed, he gave a few orders to other Aurors and turned his head to me and Ginny.

"What are you two doing here?"

"We... w-wanted to see w-what was going on." muttered Ginny, shivering and hugging my left side like it was her only way to stay on her feet. She was pale and looked about to be sick all over the bloodied floor.

"Get out, this isn't a place for children. Prinston!" he beckoned the man to come.  
"Get them out of there and give them some hot chocolate. Call Arthur and Molly Weasley too, along with Dumbledore and - hell, just call everybody you can reach. And warn the Minister too, there is a breach in Azkaban."

Prinston pushed us out of the room and ran away without giving any hot chocolate. I frowned at his back.

"No hot chocolate? That was the most promising thing of the day." I joked. _Not really, some guy taking all the blame for my crimes is very promising too._

Ginny didn't laugh, she was positively ill, to see a man being killed sometimes did that to thirteen years old witches. I looked at her faintly shaking body. I wanted to break her, destroy her pureness, her innocence. I wanted to conquer that frail body, to forcefully take her virginity and her hopes. _Jesus fuck, calm down, Harry. _The sight of blood and death had awoken my senses, my hunger, my thirst.

I breathed deeply, refraining my urge to lead the naive redhead in a closet and abuse her with a barely relieving throaty groan. _I'm a fucking monster, but it feels so good. Been a week since I cursed anything... I need it._

It was so great to lead girls to give themselves to me, most of them were interested in a possible more or less serious relationship but ended up naked and on all fours, dizzy and horny, desiring the rape it actually was with lust and passion. It felt like controlling and tainting them, it felt like being a vampire in a girl school. And in a way, I was._ We are beyond good or bad, those are human values. And we are greater than humans._

I chuckled at Victor's words. Easy to say for a vampire, but I wasn't playing with muggles like they did. _No, those are witches, they are of my kind. Does that change anything to the lesson? Good or bad?_

I shook my head, the debate wasn't one I could resolve by myself.

"Come on, let's go." I grabbed Ginny and dragged her to the third floor.

Soon, the Aurors would be away and freedom back home. I would finish my Mage Knight armor and control that damn Fiendfyre, it was all going to go well.

_In the meantime, I'll just do whatever I want. Fuck rules, fuck good and bad altogether and fuck Ginny. _I thought as I headed for the dark cave behind the statue, Ginny holding my hand and following me, oblivious of what was about to happen to her still somewhat uncorrupted self.

_I'm Harry fucking Potter, I'm beyond all that shit._

* * *

**_An: Sorry for the huge ass delay between update, but some crap came up in my otherwise quiet life. It might go smoother from now on. Enjoy._**


	14. Chapter 14

**.**

**Too Young to Die.**

**.**

**Chapter 14.**

**.**

* * *

I wiped my wet forehead and pulled the piece of metal out of the water with my wand. The cooled metal still slightly clinging from the sudden change of temperature, I placed it on a plane rock and waved my wand to the water, undoing the conjuration. The final piece was done. I had used all of the remaining steel to forge myself a melee weapon, something no Mage Knight would dare calling themselves a Mage Knight without.

The war axe was bigger than me, the thick handle was so long I could set it on the floor standing up and have the blade at head level. It was heavy, probably a good hundred pounds, the head was a double blade finished by a dangerous looking pike.

As I sat down and started to carve runes on it - sharpness and penetration, mostly - I thought about my plans for this summer. In a few days, Hogwarts would be over and I'd have to set my plan in motion.

To steal every item I needed for the body conceiving ritual. Phoenix tears, Dementor saliva, Banshee cloth, Harpy eyeglobes, Chimera teeth, a Legendary Salamander still beating heart and - oh the irony - Moondust.

I had pinned down the base of the ritual and was confident that my guesses on the geometrics would be right. It was ready, everything was written down in my invaluable notebook and ready to be set.

However, all of those items together were worth over three million galleons, considering the amount of Moondust I'd need. I had a contact, Pablo. I had met the guy in Venezuela during a very short trip and he assured me he had everything in stock. I was meant to come with the money to the huge Aleksandro Manor and trust them to have everything packed neatly in a suitcase or something.

I snorted, finishing the ever-sharp set of runes on the face on the blade. Nobody dared to try and steal from this man because he controlled the whole continent and was one of the most powerful crime lord in the world. Some kind of Latino Malfoy, but more dangerous, if I had understood correctly.

_Like I give a damn about that._ I was planning to go in there with my armor and try to sneak in, until I'd get spotted. From there I'd go berserk and kill everything. _Good plan._

I knew it was impossible to sneak in, not with the surveillance in place, not with the dozens of guards in there and probably numerous wards. The location of the warehouse was easily found in the mind of Pablo, he had somewhat of an Occlumency shield, surprising me slightly as I had rummaged through the unsafe chests in his inner fortress. I had become better than good at Legilimency, he didn't notice me unlocking his locks and stealing the information as we shortly connected our eyes. He probably didn't expect me to know such art, I had gone in my fourteen years old body, aging potions not necessary anymore.

The warehouse was in the middle of nowhere, hidden in the dense and impenetrable Amazon forest. Many people actually lived around the warehouse, which was actually more of a camp than anything from what I saw in the mind of the man.

I had done a small research on Don Aleksandro, his family had done business with every big dark lord of the last era. Grindelwald, Lady Yoland, Voldemort, you name them. He provided the magical world in everything that was forbidden by the International Confederation of Wizards and didn't hide it too much. Nobody would dare going after him in that forest, that would be declaring a war against someone who has a scandalous amount of money and connections, not to mention a few impenetrable fortresses scattered across the globe. The South American Wizard Covenant actively worked against him but the few attacks that had been led had always ended in a failure.

Nobody would be foolish enough to steal from this this man. He would find you and torture you for years before killing you. That is, if you survive the attempt of stealing him.

I had thought about stealing the money from someone and buying the items with it, but I had no time to find anyone with enough money, even the Potter vaults wouldn't be sufficient, and assaulting the goblins was promptly booted out of the equation.

_Once I'll slip in this beauty, I'll be invincible, a god of adamantine, a minotaur of power. A demon._ I ignored the part of my mind who screamed "madness" and finished the last rune. It was totally insane, I knew it, but I also knew that without insane decisions, I'd never have gone so far. And that was the sanest thing I could recall thinking in the last months.

I positioned the massive axe beside the armor itself, against the wall. I took two steps back and admired my work. _Perfect_.

The helm was totally faceless, a perfect, flawless chrome mask without any features except for the eyes, two aggressive oblique slits at eye level. Two massive bull horns were mounted on it, made of solid steel and shining from the faint light that pierced in the cave. The cuirass had been shaped like the body of a bulky minotaur, thick muscles and manly hair engraved in the grey metal. I smiled widely.  
It was huge, thick and terrifying. I could see myself killing senselessly in that suit.

"Let's try this baby out." I spoke aloud, like if the thing itself could hear me. _It can hear me, it is inside me. Lurking inside me, awaiting the moment I slip the suit on to be freed. No longer Harry Potter but the Demon Minotaur of death._

I chuckled slightly at my antics and levitated the first part in front of me. The boots, protecting my feet. I slipped my feet inside both metallic shoes and waved my wand, the runes of expansion deactivated and the steel shrank back to be in contact with my skin. After that followed the greaves, the knee protections, and every other part until I was fully covered in an inch and a half of steel.

I pushed my magic in the enchanted steel's channels and felt the runes communicate with my magic, connect my mind to the metal and the metal to my mind. I couldn't feel my flesh anymore after a few minutes, only the chillness of the flawless steel.

I took a moment to adapt to the thing, the steel moved thanks to a combination of magic and strength, I could feel the insane weight of the metal around me but I could move easily, pushing strength in my enhanced muscles and in the suit itself. It was probably more tiring, but I couldn't feel it. I was beaming a genuine smile of joy and of accomplishment. It felt good.

I grabbed the axe and set it on my pauldron, holding in with one arm. The metal rang loudly and my left foot crunched a pebble into thin sand at the impact. _This is power._

I took my wand with my right hand, the gauntlet were made of fine chainmail, the hardest piece to forge. Steel plates adorned the back of the hand and the fingers. My grasp was still soft and accurate.

I looked down, the cylinder of solid adamantine was still laying there, waiting to be melted and spread on the armour. _A shame really, I liked the look of the shiny steel._

I lifted it, my metallic fingers digging streaks in the friable rock under it, and placed it on the surface I had used to forge. I took a breath and _punched_ the thing with all my strength. The roll of adamantine took the blow and rocketed to the wall like a cannonball, it hit the rock with a deafening crack, burying itself and causing the whole cave to shake and crumble. Pieces of rock fell on me in a melodic clattering, bouncing off the armor harmlessly.

The plates on my fingers were unscathed, as good as new. My hand itself hurt a bit but no bones were broken, probably just a scratch that would regenerate after a few minutes.

The adamantine chunk, on the other hand, was totally bent and embedded in the wall, massive pieces of rock laying around the impact point.

_Goblin steel. As long as my magic inhabits it, it's going to be hard to break. _Not all self-proclaimed Mage Knights had such metal around their body, not all of them could handle the constant strain on their magic.

I winked at the misshaped lump of black metal.

"See you in a minute." I turned around and left the cave. The day was almost over for the sun, but it only started for me. I ran for thirty minutes in the forest, my heavy body crushing pebbles and twigs under my feet as I carelessly dashed through bushes and small trees. Numerous animals fled at the sound of my unstoppable self, jumping over trunks and blowing up entire rocks as I landed on them. _Nothing can stop me, I'm a machine of steel and magic. _I laughed, my helm reverberating the laugh in a frightening growl. _Damn it feels good._

I finally stopped running, and took a few deep breaths. _This is tiring_. I looked around me. _I should be far enough._

I focused on the Goblin Branch of Enchantment's building roof and jumped. My body got squished in a thin cylinder of rubber and I was thrown on the floor. I absorbed the disorientation with my arm, crouching slightly, and stood up. I was in London, on a roof.

_So I can apparate with it without difficulties. No we'll see with the adamantine._ I had taken my final apparition lesson a week ago and was positively able of apparating freely. I had found out after a few successful tries that it was in fact very easy. Once the armor would be coated with adamantine, though, I expected it to be harder. The layer of the resistant metal would be thin enough to apparate it, with the power of my own magic negating its effect from the inside, but it was still an unknown territory for me. _I'll experiment..._

My apparition on the roof was already known by goblins, I had no doubts. I waited for the detestable creature to emerge from the trap door and took my helm off to feel the wind on my skin. The view was marvelous, thousands of building laid from my feet to the horizon, shining in the twilight under the mixed reflects of the gibbous moon and setting sun, thousands of lights blinking like the eyes of a thousand cats peering at me. The slate tiles were wet from the previous rainfall but my weight wouldn't allow me to slip on the almost-flat roof.

I stood there for some time, watching the golden orb disappear and leave his throne for the silver queen, feeling the moist wind of London wash my heat away.

The goblin I was waiting for arrived when the sun was definitely bedded, he pushed the door trap and stood on the unsteady tiles, watching me. He didn't do so much as to raise an eyebrow, the fact that I was visibly too young to even be out of school and inside a metallic armor didn't faze him in the faintest.

"What will it be, sir?"

"How much to imbue this weapon and this body armor with Elemental Magic?"

"That would be six thousand galleons each."

I sighed, it was above my budget.

"Then only the weapon it will be." I slammed the end of the axe handle on the floor, cracking the tiles, and tossed him my On-Demand wallet from the leather belt around my waist. The goblin took his fee, threw me back the wallet and enchanted the huge thing to follow him.

"What element shall I imbue in the weapon, sir?" it asked with a smile that would have given me the creeps if I wasn't used to much worse in my own head.

"Lightning." I answered, recalling how Hellard had said I had an affinity with it. The goblin imbuement would allow me to use it without any training or knowledge of the art of summoning the elements.

It nodded and disappeared in the trap door again, leaving me to marvel at the incredible view their invisible-to-muggles building offered. My body, my metallic skin locked itself in a steady position and rested, the sheer weight of the metal being enough to stay immobile without any control from my muscles.

The greedy midget came back with my war axe gently hovering behind him after an hour at most. He levitated it to me and I grabbed it by the handle. The finely engraved goblin runes on the surface shined a slight silver light, like if it was absorbing the moonlight.

"The runes redirect the magic to the blade, overpower them and the magic will spread wildly." he explained before turning away and returning to his work, not one to discuss for long.

I pushed magic in the weapon and admired the edge of the blade turning purple-white and blue-white, as the intense electricity accumulated on this point started to escape, creating large arcs of energy that hung on my forearm and ran in the sky, hissing and fizzling hungrily. Elemental magic was more than just summoning the elements, it was _controlling_ them. It was my own magic that crackled in the sky around me, I felt it caressing the tiles and evaporating droplets of rain in their fall to the ground, I felt it being part of me.

I apparated back in the Forbidden Forest, now was time for the last step of the making of my Mage Knight plate armor.

Adamantine, or how to become immune to most spells.

It wouldn't protect me completely, as the layer would be very thin, but any standard spell like _Expelliarmus _or _Stupefy_ wouldn't have a chance, even a good _Secaferox_ would probably get blocked by the material. I couldn't coat too much of it around my body, or it would become impossible to apparate, and even hinder my own magic.

The trip back to the cave was abruptly interrupted by a courageous beast that had decided that without my helm, I wasn't scary enough to not eat. A dragon, flying in the sky and diving on me, spitting thick fireballs.

It was a small dragon, I noticed, probably a very young one. Not having my adamantine protection yet, I avoided the dragon fire by running to my left. _Even with the adamantine on, dragon fire isn't kiddy business. _

The balls of fire exploded on the grass, burning it ruthlessly as the beast landed, its glossy red scales reflecting the flames around it. It roared in my direction, its wings fully deployed for maximum intimidation.

I smirked and put my helm on. I felt the runes activate and close the helm hermetically, sealing my whole being in the shell of steel and feeding me filtered air from below my chin. A simple eternal Bubble-head-like charm on the lower part of the helm ensured that I always breathed proper oxygen.

I peered at the red scaled creature, it was advancing on me slowly, its mouth open and razor-sharp teeth coated in fuel, ready to be lit. _You'll be just perfect to try out my new toy._

Dragons were known to eat wizards simply because they were magically very charged, and dragons _loved_ the taste of magic.

It jumped in the air, flapped its wing once and vomited a huge column of fire toward me. I dodged the thing by running forward and on the right, too fast for it to adjust its jet of napalm. The heat was probably unbearable, but I couldn't feel it through my steel skin, I gathered magic in my war axe and roared as I swung it to the dragon, who was taking off for a dive attack. A bolt of blue lightning exploded and grabbed the wing of the beast, channeling thousands of watts across its body. It wavered and roared madly before crashing in a nearby copse. I slammed the end of the handle on the ground, feeling my arm sting with power, and breathed heavily. I was getting tired.

The trees from where the teenage dragon had crashed suddenly caught fire and cracked loudly as they were torn by the rampaging beast. _Not enough to take down a dragon, heh?_

It crawled out of the copse, whining and hissing furiously. The wing that had caught the bolt directly was smoking, burned to a crispy black cloth. It roared again, sending bits of flaming saliva crash against me. In its madness, it started to charge me, claws ready to tear and teeth to rip, foaming magma at the mouth. I flicked my right hand, my wand spurted out of its slot in the vambrace and I grabbed it.

The first spell I tried was an overpowered _Secaferox_, it hit right in the mouth of the beast, cutting a gash in its tongue and dislocating a tooth. The rampaging dragon was rapidly closing in, I focused my power and jabbed my wand.

"Frigidi Mortem!" I bellowed, sending a thick wave of frost with a blinding light. The blast smashed against the roaring thing and positively froze the boiling magma in its mouth, its whole face and front. The momentum still present but its front legs frozen, the beast crashed on the ground and slid on a few yards, pushing a massive lump of dirt forward.

My respite didn't last long, the animal roared again, pulverizing the ice in its mouth with a few gallons of infernal napalm. It stood up again, its frozen flesh heating up and resurrecting. I sheathed my wand in a quick motion of the wrist and grabbed my axe with two hands.

I roared inhumanly and swung my weapon again, this time in a vertical slash, electricity buzzing madly at the edge. The dragon's eyes were still frozen, it didn't see the strike coming. The lightning hit just before my blade did, melting the scales and tendering the meat under them, and the hundred pound of goblin steel hacked the dragon's collarbone and flesh. Blood only sprayed after the axe had stopped, embedded in the thorax of the beast. The child dragon whined a sad whimper and collapsed to the ground, dead on the spot. Blood flowed massively, painting my boots and my greaves red.

I panted for a moment, exhausted from the lengthy use of the armor and the exercise it had become. Dark magic from the freezing spell was still pleasantly soothing my nerves and tingling my skin.

_I thought dragons stayed in the mountain part of the forest. _I eyed the fallen creature still bleeding heavily. _Sorry, kid, but you should have listened to your mommy._

I pulled the axe out of the draining flesh and set course to the cave. _I'll take a nap first, adamantine will wait._

I grinned faintly. _No human could hurt me in this thing, even a dragon can't._

Tomorrow was planned the final task of the Triwizard Tournament, I had missed three of the six tasks but heard Zachary was doing pretty good, even if he had had to train twice as much after the memory loss. I would be watching this one, the year was almost over and I had done all that I needed to be done.

An intense feeling of accomplishment alleviated me as I fell asleep on the rocky ground of the cave.

* * *

I watched Zach blast away one of the crazy half giant's pets on the floating screen and wondered just how did he become so good with a wand. _Potter blood is one thing, but he's really good._

The dangerous looking fiery crab was thrown in a bush and Zach transfigured the grass under it in mud, effectively trapping the monster.

"Come on Ced, show him how it's done!" cheered Smith on my left, his voice booming above the constant noise of the crowd.

The six floating screens above the entrance of the labyrinth showed each participants in their quest through the endless bushes. So far Zach had encountered Dementors, a Sphinx and a few clever traps, all defused skillfully. I cursed everytime he passed through an obstacle, he was too damn good for a fourteen years old. The crowd was delighted, of course, and cheered for him louder than anybody else.

"Damn, what was even that spell he used to vanish the fog? Your brother is really something Harry." squeaked Eveleen in my ear.

"Could have blasted the whole trap with an Incendio, though. It would have been faster." I spat, not bothering to hide my irritation. I had no idea of what spell it was neither.

"An Incendio? This thing had to be protected from fire, obviously."

"So what? Send something stronger then! A spell that vanishes fog is worthless when you can just burn the whole fucking place!" I barked angrily before forcing myself into calm.

"Merlin, Harry, what's wrong with you?" she asked, placing her hand on my arm.

I took a sip of the butterbeer bottle and grabbed her hand.

"Follow me."

"What? But the task?" she asked incredulously. I pulled her up and pushed my way through the crowd, mumbling apologies to the spectators I was almost walking on.

"It's gonna be quick I swear." We got out of the stadium and I led her behind the wooden structure.

"You want to? Now? Oh, Harry, never change." she smirked and let me push her against a wooden beam. I needed to get rid of the irritation of seeing Zach do so well. I was sick of the show anyway, and it had been a few days since I had touched Trix.

She giggled as I vanished her panties with a flick of wand and conjured handcuffs on her wrists, locking her around the pillar of the stadium's structure.

"Ohhh, kinky today, I see. Want to take the helpless prefect here and now? Oh no, what am I gonna - ummm" she finally stopped talking and started to moan.

Our fun was unfortunately stopped by the crowd after a few minutes, apparently, someone had reached the cup. The cheers and cries heard told me that someone from Hogwarts had gotten it. I sighed. _Probably him, of course._

"Don't stop, Harry..." whined Trix, still bound to the wooden beam. I returned to my work on her, but the cheers had stopped. _Weird, they're not cheering anymore._ The crowd had turned silent and was muttering weirdly. I heard steps above me, people were moving around, up and down the stadium.

"Harry? Is this a new game or something?" moaned Trix. "Come on ...please!"

"Something's not right, Trix. The crowd, they're acting weird. Let's go." I vanished the handcuffs and closed my pants hurriedly, ignoring the stinging hexes she send at my back out of frustration. Once in the stadium again, my suspicions were confirmed, something was wrong.

At the jury table, I spotted James, Lily, Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagall, The Minister, Shacklebot and numerous other official-looking people. They were obviously very worried and arguing quite loudly. Aurors had invaded the pitch on brooms and were containing the crowd.

"What's that about, you drag me out there to play your fantasies and you retract just when I'm about to -" yelled Trix in my ears before I cut her with a silencing charm.

"Look around you, Trix, there's been an incident." I explained, excited. _Maybe he's dead, maybe he finally got killed by something._

She quickly surveyed the stadium before canceling the charm.

"What do you think happened?"

I tapped the closest wizard on the arm to get his attention. Apparently a Ravenclaw, not that it mattered.

"What happened? I didn't see."

"Well, Potter and Diggory got to the cup together and decided to grab it at the same time. The cup was a portkey and took them away. And apparently, this wasn't planned right, they aren't coming back."

"Where did the portkey take them?"

"If anybody knew, we would be celebrating instead of waiting for someone to explain what the hell is going on." he retorted in a condescending tone. I turned to Trix and explained her quickly, hiding my amusement. _This is glorious, he's getting kidnapped under the nose of Dumbledore, James and the Ministry officials._

A few dozen minutes later, as I was trying to convince Trix to give it a go again, the crowd exploded suddenly. I turned around and quickly spotted what triggered it. Zach had appeared in the middle of the stadium, just under the floating screens.

He looked terrible, he was dirty and very pale, his arm was bloody, I could see it soaking the black robes. He was carrying Diggory, who looked dead, eyes open widely and lifeless body. At first I thought the boy had been stunned by a weird spell or something, but I soon understood that he was actually dead.

"Holy shit, Diggory's dead! Oh my god! Holy shit, Harry!" Trix was raving next to me, shaking me madly. The Aurors had ran to Zach and were busy with him, as was Dumbledore and everyone around him.

Student were promptly sent to their dormitories by their respective heads of Houses, and before I knew it, I was confined into a roaring common room.

A lot of girls were crying their eyes out, and most of the boys were shouting and yelling to no one.

"This has to be Potter, he wanted the cup for himself!" finally shouted one. Soon after, everyone adopted the idea and suddenly remembered there was another Potter in the room.

"Potter! You and your brother!" spat a seventh year, his face reddened. He pointed his wand at me madly.

"What?" I simply answered to the non question.

"You little shit!" he barked and without further ado silently sent a spell my way.

"Protego." I casted the shield charm, speaking the incantation at the last second, almost revealing my silent casting skills. _No fourth year knows how to silent cast a shield._

The pink spell shattered the shield and vanished along with it. I readied myself to stop another one when a red bolt struck my assailant, who fell in the arms of his fellow classmates.

"What do you think you're doing?" barked an angry prefect Eveleen, her wand still pointing to the group that turned to me.  
"Harry was with me the whole time! The next one who does any kind of magic will get a fully detailed report to Sprout!" she yelled, her eyes still puffy from the crying.

"That doesn't prove anything!" shouted a fifth year, Jay Carry from what I remembered.

"And everybody knows Harry shags you so that doesn't really make you a valid alibi." mocked a seventh year, sneering at her. "That make you the whore of a criminal." he added helpfully, earning a few laughs.

It was apparently a touchy subject, and Trix was probably not in the mood for that.

"Incarcerous!" she yelled. Ropes started to grasp the seventh year when his friend sent a stunner at Trix. My reflexes kicked in, I casted an out loud _Protego_ in front of her, that got destroyed by the two stunners.

The following seconds were a mess.

"Frangerium." I spoke out loud, not ready to reveal my silent casting. The silent explosion curse hit the floor just behind the first row of angry teenagers and exploded. It wasn't a dangerous spell, but it was still _very_ efficient against groups of people. The force of the silent blow sent everyone in the room flying. Yelps and shouts were heard as the students crashed against the furniture, bounced of the ceiling and landed on the floor, losing their wands, glasses and any other objects as they were chucked around.

"What in blazes is going on!" bellowed Sprout from the entrance of the common room as everyone were picking themselves up. The room was completely messed up, students were stacked one on another, trying to get up without hurting themselves too badly. Some were moaning in pain as they hurt their wrists or ankles in the process, and almost all the girls were still crying from the death of Diggory. _Wow... Frangerium indoor is one hell of a party._ I thought with a smile.

"What happened?" inquired Sprout, scanning the terrible state of her students.

"It's Potter!"

"Potter tried to kill us!"

"Shut up you lot! Professor Sprout, they tried to attack Harry because his brother was with Cedric when he..." started Trix, allowed to speak to Sprout thanks to her prefect status. She stopped and bit her lower lip, visibly refraining a tear.  
"Anyway, he's not to blame, it's Dewayne, and Mortimer and his friends." she finished, pointing to the angry seventh years. My wand was still in my hand, I didn't know much offensive and legal spells, but I was sure I could take them on.

"Detention to all of you. Potter, with me." I raised an eyebrow but silently made my way to professor Sprout. "I'm going to bring Mr. Potter to his family, when I come back, I want everyone of you calmed down and this room in perfect condition! I won't hesitate expelling the lot of you if not!" she yelled before turning around and walking away. I followed her, shooting a small smile at Trix before I couldn't see her anymore.

We walked for a while in the empty corridors, Sprout was visibly shaken by the loss of Diggory, she didn't utter a single word.

"Ah, Harry." greeted Dumbledore with a sad smile when Sprout pushed me in his office before going back to the common room.

"Headmaster."

"How are things in Hufflepuff, my dear?"

"Quite messy, to be honest. I might have had to curse a few dozens to save my skin. What's going on, headmaster?"

"Yes, yes, I figured they might think Zachary had done something terrible. Sit down with your family, please." he discarded me and walked back to the center of the office, where a bunch of witches and wizards were arguing loudly. I made my way to a seat next to Zach and listened.

"But it makes sense, Minister. Zachary is positive in his report, Voldemort is back. Barty Crouch was a death eater and plotted this nefarious enterprise while he was alive." insisted Dumbledore, backed up by James who nodded heavily.

"We must warn the people as soon as possible, Cornelius." he added.

"You are basing all your suspicions on the tale of a fourteen years old boy who - clearly - is not in his right mind." argued the minister.

"Are you saying my son is a liar, Cornelius?" threatened James, taking a step toward the fat Minister.

"Auror Potter, your son's tale isn't credible! Survived another encounter with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? And with his death eaters this time?" he laughed a nervous laugh.

"My son!" bellowed James, grabbing the Minister by the collar. "Does not lie!"

"James, calm down, I'm sure the Minister will see reason." helped Dumbledore, putting his hand on James' shoulder.

"Auror Potter! You will remove your hand and step back!" squeaked the little man. "Until there is a strong evidence of your fairy tale, I will not believe it."

"There are two dead bodies, Minister!" yelled McGonagall. "Doesn't that and Zachary's account make enough evidences?"

"Cornelius, we must face the facts and react accordingly. If we act soon enough, we will be able to deal with Voldemort efficiently. It won't be like the last war."

"Enough, Dumbeldore!" Fudge yelled before stepping back. "You-know-who is dead and will stay dead. I won't play your sick fantasies." he spat.  
"If you want to deal with dark wizards, I suggest we discuss the fact that there is a kid here who came back from Merlin-knows-where with a dead student in his arm!" he barked, pointing accusingly at Zach.  
"This story isn't clear, Albus, and I will clear it out."

"Cornelius, I beg you, look at the facts!" tried Dumbledore one last time before the Minister and his cortege left the office, leaving him and the Potter family in a boiling silence.

"This imbecile!" shouted James, throwing his arms in the air. "He's a god damn idiot, and he's gonna bring down the entire country with him!"

Dumbledore sat behind his desk and sighed deeply.

"I knew there was something wrong with Zach being in this tournament, if only this _fucker_ didn't die so quickly, I could have seen the whole thing in his mind!"

"James! Settle down!" shrieked Lily, James was fuming.

"James, Lily, I suggest you take Zachary and his brother home. You will be hidden and protected here." started Dumbledore, standing up.  
"It is time to reform The Order, I will contact you shortly."

They nodded knowingly and before long, we were back home.

This night I wondered just what the hell I was getting into.

_Whatever's gonna happen, I can't become a part of it. I have my own plans._

* * *

"Mail!"

The voice woke me up suddenly. I sat up in my bed and massaged my forehead. I almost remembered the dream, this time. I still had the scent of Natasha in my mind, as if I had just hugged her a few seconds ago. _Dreamed of her again... At least it's not the nightmares._

It was almost noon, I crawled out of my bed and slipped on a cargo short along with a polo, not bothering to look at what I was summoning from the drawer with lazy wand flicks. After a quick moment in the bathroom, I was fresh and ready to start my day.

When I arrived in the living room, I suddenly stopped whistling. Before me were headmaster Dumbledore, deputy headmistress McGonagall and a few other people I couldn't remember seeing before. They were discussing enthusiastically and drinking Lily's famous punch.

The Order of the Phoenix was apparently some sort of anti terrorist association Dumbledore was the head of, and my living room had become its headquarters. Our house was heavily warded and impossible to find without being invited into it, that and the fact that it was Zachary's home, Dumbledore decided there wasn't a better place to arrange meetings of the vigilante group.

Diggory's death had been publicly explained as an accident, and Dumbledore's and James' vehement public declarations only served to get James fired from the Auror ranks and press articles about the declining sanity of the old Warlock. Now, it was all about the Order, they were determined to make things move.

_Looks like they invited the kids too, great._ I thought darkly as the Weasley mother scolded Ron for annoying Ginny. I made my way across the busy room, trying to not be noticed too much, to get my mail. Owl magic had been cut from the house since the recent attempt on Zachary's life, and we now had to get the mail by the floo, a service took it for us and packaged it through the green fire.

"Hey, Harry." I winced at the voice. I had taken Ginny's virginity a few weeks ago, and it had been really, _really _weird. _Mostly because we did it right after seeing fake Moody being killed._

"Oh, hey Ginny." I smiled and pointed to the pile of mail James was reading near the fireplace. "I'm going to get my mail if I have some... And you? What are you doing here?" I asked lamely, cringing at the bad wording.

"My mum and dad were invited to spend the day here so we came along." she explained, looking expectantly at me. "Why didn't you talk to me since... you know..." she blushed.

"Well... I wasn't really myself this day and I... I sort of felt like I forced you to be honest." I lied, I had been myself this day as much as any other day of my life and I knew it. There wasn't a solid and true "myself", I had decided after a thorough reflection, I was made of many different facets, but each one of them was myself. "So yeah, I figured you'd hate me or something, and so much shit happened after that, I sort of lost track of our story together..."

She stepped closer and shook her head, blushing furiously.

"I don't hate you, Harry, not at all. It was... weird, but I liked it... I think." she admitted, lowering her voice to avoid being heard. However, I wasn't especially interested in the young redhead anymore. I had broken into her, conquered her, and now she was nothing special. _Not even experienced, she has no value anymore._ I thought bitterly. _Still, she's cute, and it would be a pain to have her throw a tantrum around the house everyday._

"I'm glad to hear it." I didn't say anything more as her mother came to me and greeted me.

"Hello, Mrs. Weasley. James, my mail please."

James merely looked at me and tossed me a bunch of letters tied together by a string. "They're somewhere in there I guess." he mumbled before going back on his read.

"Let me take care of that, Harry. There are some letters in there you might not be meant to read." said Mrs. Weasley as she snatched the letter pack with her wand in mid air, glaring slightly at James.

I looked at her and refrained a violent urge of sending her flying into the wall for being so rude. _This is my house, my family and my letters, who the fuck are you._

She started to process the letters, placing back on the table the ones addressed to anyone else than me.

"Hey, Harry." I turned to the voice and saw Zachary, escorted by his famous bodyguards, Ron and Hermione.

I greeted them quietly and waited for the annoying red haired witch to finally hand me my mail if I had any.

"So, do you guys know what's up with the Order and stuff?" I asked nonchalantly, not actually wanting an answer. I had gleaned all the information I could on Voldemort's rebirth ritual and had identified what it was, and it was nothing useful for me, so I had dropped any interest I had for the whole story. _If he wants to kill Zach, that's cool with me. Not my problem._

"Oh yeah, you'd like us to tell you, right?" barked the disfigured Ron, his pink skin reddening slowly.

"The fuck is your problem?"

"We don't trust you, Potter. Everybody may have forgotten the forest attack, but we didn't." he spat, lowering his voice a bit as his mother turned her attention to us.

"From Trix Eveleen to Harry Potter." She handed me a letter, I took it. "And from Isabel Neilina to Harry Potter." she said as she handed another letter before resuming her slow processing of the letters.

"You're aware that the case is closed, right? Barty Crouch Junior? Rings a bell?" I mocked, reading the letter from Trix, it was nothing much, basically just good luck wishes for Zach and an invitation to come and shag her all night any time during summer.

"You're not clear Harry, I've had suspicions about you for too long, dad told me about the fight we had last summer, conveniently enough for you, the obliviation starts just before." whispered Zachary, his eyes hard.

I rolled my eyes. _Honestly, I didn't even plan to erase that, it just turned out this way. _

"So what? I did it?"

"Three more letters, from Cynthia Alanis, Louise London and Priscillia Crystal." the red head mother handed me the letter, her eyes a bit narrowed at me.

"Obviously, it wasn't you. It was most likely Crouch. But there is a possibility that it wasn't him, and in any case, you are not innocent, you had your hand in this, somehow. The book you refused to show me or dad, your behavior over the years, your weird sorting in Hufflepuff, everything is amiss around you, Harry."

"That book was nothing special, I refused to show it because you were being an ass about it." I explained offhandedly.

"One from Alyson Justice ,one from Pamela Laverne, one from Elissa Netta, and finally, one from Howell Nye." finished the authoritarian redhead. "Oops, and one from Rosaline Andie. Popular with witches, Mr. Potter, I wonder if I should let you around my Ginny." she joked before taking off.

Ginny laughed slightly and looked sadly at the pile of letter in my hand.

"Well I don't believe you, and Ron's with me." he leaned to me and lowered his tone. "And Hermione told us about how you threatened her once. I'll be frank, Harry, in these times, we can't allow you to be a risk for us. If you want us to trust you, hand over the mail."

I looked at him unbelievingly.

"The mail? You mean my mail?"

This time, Hermione answered, looking at me straight in the eyes.

"Exactly, Harry. If you have nothing to hide, let us read your mail."

"You guys are kidding, right? There's no way I'm letting you read my mail." I laughed heartily. "What do you even expect finding in there? A letter from You-Know-Who? Him asking me how's going my infiltration in the Potter family? Jesus Christ, I thought you were the clever one, Granger."

"You want to play it like that? Then be it, Harry, but you got to understand we're not playing anymore, not since Cedric died." Zachary concluded darkly and walked away, followed by Hermione.

"Come on Ginny, don't stay around him." beckoned Ron

"Get out of here, half-wizard." I spat, using Ron's new nickname since the Forest attack and walked back to my room before he could lose his temper and end up triggering the Trace.

I skimmed over the letters, most of them were the same wishes for Zach to regain his health and invitation for me to drop in their place for a tea or something. _Well, why not after all. With apparition, it would be quite easy to visit them over the summer._ _But first, I need to try apparition with the Adamantine covered minotaur. _It would only take me an hour or two to coat the armor in Adamantine, the rest of the afternoon would be dedicated to practice with the final product. _I might drop to Priscillia's place after that, if only to mock her. Priscillia Crystal, what kind of name is that?_

I opened my window and jumped off. There was no point in telling anybody I was going out, they would probably freak out and lesson me about how dangerous is You-Know-Who. I walked a few streets away and apparated to the Forbidden Forest.

When I came back to Godric's Hollow, the midnight bells had already rung in the quiet town. The Adamantine coating had been a success, and I had played with the armor a while, apparating in various places of the deep Forbidden Forest. I had encountered a few brave beasts but they fled as soon as they took an overpowered punch in the face.

The following hours had been spent with Priscillia, and weirdly enough, her cousin Nymphadora Tonks who had the incredible gift of metamorphmagus. I had tried to initiate a threesome but the witch rejected the offer. I was only fourteen after all, and she was in her twenties.

I tried to sneak by the backyard and get into my room without awaking the sleeping house, but when I stepped in the living room, crossing the concealment ward, I discovered a very awake house.

"There he is!" yelled Zach, pointing an accusatory finger to me. _What in hell did I do this time._

Dumbledore himself was present and walked to me.

"Harry, where have you been?" he asked in concern.

James and Lily were in the back, looking at me with a blank look, and I spotted the ever golden trio glaring at me from their seats.

"What happened?" I asked. Dumbledore sighed and pushed me into an armchair.

"Did you get out on your own?"

"Of course I did." I replied, wondering where this was going.

"Harry, we are at war. Your family is the primary target of Voldemort, you cannot leave the house." he explained, a sad smile plastered on his old skin. I was getting rather pissed off at the old man and his Order.

"Well in any case, I'm not trading freedom for security. You guys can stay locked in there if you want, but I won't. Headmaster." I greeted shortly and stood up to go to my room.

"Now, now, Harry. We are not talking about locking you. What have you been doing out of the house? I'm sure we can come to an agreement." he grabbed my arm and forced me to sit down, I resisted the urge to backhand him into the opposite wall.

"We can't allow you to wander outside, Harry, it endangers your family and the Order." this time, his tone had lost all pretense of friendliness and was firm.

_What I've been doing? Sure I could bring the girls here, but I have to plan my attack of the warehouse. But obviously, the old man won't accept anything else than a yes. _

"Whatever, I'll bring my friends in the house too then." _That should get him off my back until the next time._ I shrugged and walked to the staircase, only to be intercepted by Zach and his sidekicks once out of the living room.

"No more of your little trips out of the house, Harry, no more dark magic training and whatever dark stuff you like to do. I told you we're onto you." Zach smirked and climbed the stairs, followed by the two others. Ron glared at me with passion, probably thinking it was intimidating.

"Watch out with that death stare of yours, pretty boy, you're gonna traumatize someone one of these days." I lowered my voice and leaned closer to him with a big grin. "I could make you more... symmetrical if you'd like. I know just the right curse." I winked and let out a small laugh as the red haired monster made a quick grab for his wand.

"Diffindo!" he roared like a mad man, sending the cutting curse at almost point blank.

I protected my face with my left hand, taking the curse in the forearm. Ron wasn't finished, he started another wand motion. Thinking fast, I kicked him in the knee, breaking it instantly. He yelled in pain as he collapsed, his synthetic leg not able to maintain him on its own.

"What the fuck did you do?" shouted Zachary, his wand on me. I raised my hands and grinned as the adults arrived to see what was going on.

"What happened? Who casted the cutting charm?"

"It was Ron, sir, he didn't take one of my jokes well." I explained calmly, showing my forearm, barely bleeding from the cut. "He was about to continue his attack, so I kicked him in the leg."

Dumbledore took a few seconds to fix what he could in the broken knee and levitated Ron on a couch.

"He admitted it! He said it! It was him who did that to me!" he yelled madly, sputtering and glaring at me.

I shook my head and sighed before going in my room under the glares of Hermione and Zach. _Summer is going to be really hard this year._

* * *

_**An: So you want to be an Author: yes, according to the stats I have, about half the people that read chapter 1 drop the story altogether.  
That's a lesson for me, next time, put extra work into the first chapter. Not that the rest of the story is perfect, I'm aware that it has flaws and all, but the first chapter is definitely a weak point.**_

**_In the next chapter, Harry will attempt to steal the ingredients he needs from Aleksandro , stay tuned!_**


	15. Chapter 15

**.**

**Too Young to Die.**

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**Chapter 15.**

**.**

* * *

"Yes, do it... ooh my god... do it." I aimed my wand at the sweaty witch under me and silently cast an underpowered dark strangulation curse. The pleasure from the spell was faint, even fainter than usual, but still somewhat soothed my body. _I'm getting used to this one._

It wasn't enough, but it calmed me a bit, it fed my hungry flesh the pleasure it sought. I cancelled the curse and listened to the soon to be sixth year Slytherin witch gasp and breath heavily as air was allowed through her throat again.

She grasped the sheets and her whole body tensed, she let out a breathless moan and slumped on the bed, panting.

She didn't know I had used a dark curse on her, but she didn't need to. The strangulation curse at this level was similar to widely used kinky strangulation charms, and she wasn't in a position to tell by the color or anything.

I exited her wet and warm entrance and slumped on her.

"You're good at that, Potter." she giggled. "Christopher would be so mad if he knew I sleep with a Hufflepuff, oh my god."

"He still didn't make a move?"

"Oh I think he wants to, but he's too scared to try. I would probably have forced him if I hadn't found you." she sighed, running her hand in my hair. "I can't believe I'm going to marry this guy. At least I can cheat him as much as I want, my mum actually told me that."

"Seriously?"

She nodded and kissed me just as the door of my room suddenly blew open in a loud bang. Zach, Ron and Hermione erupted in the room with long strides, only to stop abruptly at the sight of Tiffany and me naked on the bed.

"What the fuck!" she shrieked as she tried to find sheets to cover herself. There weren't any, unfortunately.

"What the flying fuck are you doing here!" I barked to the trio.

"I... we thought... I ..." sputtered Hermione, her gaze not leaving the scene, an insane blushing creeping on her face.

"Get out!"

"B-But it w-was... Slytherin..." tried Zach, his face red as he watched Tiffany try to cover herself with her arms.

"Get out or I'll trigger the Trace on your ass!" I bellowed, one hand on my privates and another pointing my wand to them. That seemed to snap them out of their trance and they hurried out of the room, closing the door carefully. Since Zach had no memory of our duel, I was still meant to have the Trace on.

I turned to my Slytherin friend and sighed.

"What was _that _about?" she almost yelled.

I fell back in the bed.  
"They think I'm some kind of dark wizard and monitor everything I do. You know how Gryffindors are... when they saw a Slytherin enter the room, they probably thought I was plotting something."

"Damn." she answered and let silence follow that statement. "It must suck to be around these guys."

I nodded sadly and summoned clean clothes from the drawer.

"They don't know you broke the Trace?"

"No, they don't. And I want to keep it like that, so please do shut up about it."

A few freshening charms later, I led the gorgeous black haired witch down the stairs and into the living room.

"Auror Shacklebot."

"Hello, Harry, and hello young lady." answered the Auror with a smile.

She kissed me goodbye and disappeared in the green flames under the cautious gaze of the dark skinned Auror.

"Who was this, Harry? You know you can't get anybody inside the house without consulting us first."

"She was a friend of mine, that's all you need to know." I almost spat, before turning around and leaving the room. Few weeks had passed since the start of summer, but I was already having a hard time not snapping at everybody and cursing them into another realm. The worst were the Weasley, I couldn't stand the mother and the disfigured son. Thankfully, they weren't here that often.

I knocked on Zachary's door and waited for him to open. He opened the door slowly, glaring at me as if I was about to hex him. I pushed the panel forcefully and entered the room.

"Let me get this straight, if any of you ever do something like that again, I won't bother warning you. I'll curse the shit out of you." I threatened, looking alternatively at Ron, Zach and Hermione, who was unable to meet my eyes.

"Look, Harry, I'm sorry for what happened, but we won't stop watching you because of that."

"You can watch me as much as you want but next time you force my door, I'll fuck you up, Zach. What did you even expect to find? Granger!" I shouted, causing said girl to jump. "You have a capable brain, right? Don't you see how stupid all of that is?"

"Well... she was a Slytherin... how could we know that you'd be..." she muttered lamely, still not looking at me. "I mean, why would you bring a Slytherin in the house if it wasn't to plot something?" she continued, this time with more conviction.

"Well now you saw why exactly, so will you _please_ stop being a bunch of annoying fucks and leave me alone?" I hissed, looking right into her eyes. She returned the gaze and for a second I saw in her mind. She was still thinking about the scene she witnessed earlier. _She's... horny? _I sighed mentally.

"No. I don't trust you, Harry, and the fact that you apparently weren't plotting anything with that witch doesn't change anything." replied Zach strongly.

"Well fuck you all, I won't take anymore of this shit. Tell James and Lily I'm gone, I'll come back whenever." I spat, turning around. _I needed an excuse to leave anyway._

Zach didn't waste his breath asking me where I was going, he knew I wouldn't answer. I walked to my room, took my black cloak, jumped off the window and disapparated as soon as I was out of sight.

I apparated in Diagon Alley and immediately reached the nearest transportation shop, concealed in my cloak.

I bought a portkey to Venezuela and apparated in the Forbidden Forest, where my armor waited for me. I had prepared a few over-potent and dangerously enhanced Pepper-Up potions and stored them in the minotaur's belt for the occasion, I knew it was going to be one hell of a mess.

_Weird, now that I'm about to go, I realize how dangerous it is..._ I glanced at the blue sky and smiled widely behind the helm. _Nice day to die._

Fully equipped and ready, I grasped the rusty bolt that was the portkey.

It vibrated increasingly and finally flashed me out of Britain. I landed in the central magical marketplace of the country, my heavy armor making the ground tremble at the impact, but didn't lose a second watching around. I knew where I was going. I apparated immediately, into the dense Amazonian Forest.

I stood up on the moist ground, crushing twigs under my feet and took a look around me. The forest was a jungle, a swamp and a rainforest at the same time. Magic was clearly present, many trees weren't seen in muggle forests, some with big black trunks and red leaves, some white white-grey thin trunks and black leaves, all covered in moss and small animals peering at my strange suit. I couldn't feel the ambient heat in my armor, but I could imagine it. The air was probable thick with humidity and awfully hot.

I made my way through the dense vegetation, pushing small trees aside with my free hand and casting the Point-Me charm with the other. I had seen the location of the warehouse in the mind of Pablo and unless they had placed a _Fidelius _around it recently, I could find it easily. _I doubt anyone could cast a Fidelius around such a big place anyway._

The journey to the warehouse was eventless, I scared a tiger off and got attacked by a small pixie herd, who quickly retreated when I spread fire in their ranks.

I was finally in front of the camp, watching dozens of people walk around and patrol between the tents and structures. Many of them looked muggle, they had those rifles I heard about and I spotted a few trucks driving in and out from the main dirt road. I took a few minutes to set up a golem creation ritual of my own and created two rock wolves to assist me, barely bigger than normal wolves, but packing as much power as me.

_Rocky and Stony. _I named them as I tried to determinate which looked more rocky or stony.

My target was in the middle of the small town, a huge warehouse, closed and without windows, with apparently only one entrance. I doubted I could blast my way through the walls with magic, they were probably reinforced with Adamantine.

_However, I possess another kind of power._ I grinned. _Screw magic, I'll hack myself a hole into it with this baby._ I thought, caressing the war axe in my back softly.

I started to approach the left side of the village, lurking in the shadows of the jungle, followed by my two loyal sidekicks who answered my thoughts and quickly reached the closest point to the warehouse. I had felt the anti apparition wards a few yards before and knew there weren't any other wards around the camp. With all the people working and living here, it would be a mess.

A truck passed in front of me, loaded with crates I had seen men filling with white powder packages. _Probably some kind of muggle drug._

I saw an opening and sprang on my feet. I ran between two buildings and jumped over the last part of the road, landing behind the corner of the warehouse about as gracefully as a brick. Nobody had seen me yet, but I had no doubt I would become known the second I'd enter the warehouse. I could practically feel the magic of the wards steaming from it. The rock creatures had followed me flawlessly, having no trouble imitating my physical prowess.

_Well, here goes._ I grabbed my war axe, raised it above me and pushed magic into it. The blade lit up instantly, fizzling madly and glowing with electricity and I brought it down with all my strength. The insane voltage melted the metal instantly as the axe cleaved a clear gash in the wall, crushing the layer of rock on the other side without any problems.

I repeated the action two times and finally kicked my way through the hole, pushing large boulders and stones inside the place.

The warehouse was in a word, gigantic. From my position, I could see endless racks and stacks of crates, jugs, pots, barrels and various storage items. It wasn't one large rectangular depot like I expected, It was a mess of stairways and sublevels, separated by walls and enormous shelves.

I jumped down, ignoring the thunderous bang of my feet cracking the stone floor, and walked around. _I have no idea of where I am_. I spotted a sign a few feet away.

**_XXXX Reliquias._**

I shook my head, I didn't need to read Spanish to tell it wasn't what I was looking for. I ordered my two wolves to take respectively left and right, and I took the path in front of me. Most of the crates were closed and didn't show their content, but as I swiftly ran between the shelves, I spotted a few unboxed items here and here; a massive pendulum clock made of what looked like gold, a finely engraved buckler chipped with rubies and other more or less grand looking objects caught my eyes.

"Yo lo veo! Alto!"

I heard the voice on my right and stopped brutally, my heavy feet ripping the stone viciously. A bit ahead of me, on my right, were three wizards, wand in hand and aiming at me. _Looks like I've got company._

They stared shockingly at me for a few seconds before backpedaling and yelling things I didn't understand.

"Scared of the Mighty Metal Minotaur? You should be!" I laughed madly before whipping my wand out.

The first one tried a stunning spell that I didn't even try to avoid, letting it crash harmlessly against my solid torso. He understood quickly that I wasn't going to be that easy to take down and attempted to transfigure an empty wooden crate next to me. He however failed, dropping the half-transfigured wooden bear before turning around to run. I snorted and fired a few stunners. _Those guys could really use a few years in Hogwarts._ I knew most of the workers around the place weren't magically educated nearly as much as a Hogwarts bachelor. _The fun begins when the mercenaries arrive._

My stunners caught one of them and met shields in front of the two others. Having no time to play with the weak opponents they were, I transfigured the same wooden crate as before into a long and pointy steel spear and banished it to them. Too fast for them to think of a way out, the spear impaled the first one against a wooden crate with a small thump, killing him on the spot. The last one tried a desperate killing curse but failed it, his wand only glowing green for a second. He fell to his knees and started to beg for his life when I stunned him, not losing a second.

I started to run again, focusing on my mission and ignoring my urges to curse their still alive bodies with dark magic. _The ingredients, that's all that matter. _

Suddenly, I heard a loud ringing in the whole warehouse. _Alarm is set off. Let the fun begin. _The air around me took a shade of red as an ominous mist formed itself in the building. The thick, moist red smog started to coat my armor and the shelves with a slimy semi transparent red substance. _Probably some sort of defense system, I don't want to know what it does. _I mused, confident with the resistance of my armor.

I suddenly felt a jolt of joy in the back of my skull. _Good job, Stony. Or was it Rocky?_

One of the wolves had found the XXXX Creature Parts section from what I understood from the flashes it sent me. I mentally ordered the other wolf to meet me on the way and changed course. The thick red smoke was beginning to impede my vision, but I thought it smarter to not try and burn it. _While I doubt they'd endanger the whole warehouse with an inflammable substance, I can't take the risk._

A growl interrupted my thought, I looked to my left, squinting to see through the ambient redness and took a heavy blow in the stomach. I almost coughed, but the armor had taken the blow easily, I had been pushed only a feet back. The beast in front of me was a stone golem, I knew them well enough to tell. _There's a Necromancer in this place. _I answered the attack with a brutal punch in the forearm of the bear-squid shaped rock beast, blasting it to pieces.

"You're not very solid, are you?" I quipped, jumping back to avoid two blows. I took my wand out and sent a heavy banisher in the center of the creation, blasting a few boulders and a hundred pebbles all around.

"Avada Kedavra!" shouted a man from behind me, his voice diminished by the bubble-head charm he had set on his face. I quickly conjured a block of granite in the path of the emerald green curse, swearing at the unexpected attack as the granite block exploded in a thousand pieces, the shockwave from the powerful curse blasting the red fog away. My armor could probably take a killing curse or two, but it would damage me badly.

The wizard now in front of me had three associates behind him and they quickly launched in a shower of dangerous spells.

I jumped high in the air, dodging two other killing curse and a few faster ones I couldn't recognize, and quickly sent half a dozen _Voraxignium_ to the group before plummeting back. I landed on the stone golem, pulverizing two of his numerous appendages with my feet while the dark fire curses hit home. Only one wizard got hit, but his inhuman screams diverted the others for a few seconds. _Just what I needed._

I kicked the stone construction in the head and landed on the floor again, already muttering the incantation under my breath.

"Glutiam demergat. Neptunum Posidon liberavit. Veni ad me..." I pointed my wand at them and finished the incantation; "_Demonum Torrent!_"

The angry water exploded out of my shoulder, drowning my arm in a raging torrent quickly becoming a huge snake of rapid water, a Leviathan of crushing power that hissed madly, its translucent body banging against the ceiling and floor, sending waves of water left and right , quickly turning the alley in a maelstrom around my unmovable self.

"Destroy the wizards! Find the Necromancer! Crush them all!" I bellowed, slashing my wand to the intervention squad now running away. The Demonic Torrent was easier to control than Fiendfyre, as it had no real personality. Only the will to destroy. The beast hissed and lunged forward, bringing crates and barrels with it in the flow and draining the pool around me to finally leave me alone in the silence.

The direct area around me was clear of fog, a few boulders and damp wooden boxes were laying around; the golem had been dismantled by the strength of the water and most of it seemed to have been taken away by the torrent.

I turned around and started to run, entering the red smoke again after a few steps. I met Rocky on my way down the level underneath, were Stony had found one of the sections that interested me. I quickly downed one of the hyper-concentrated Pepper-Up potion to make up for the exhaustion of summoning the Demonic Torrent and entered the XXXX Creature Parts section.

_Harpy eye globes, Legendary Salamander beating heart and... Chimera Teeth, that's all I need in this section._

Retrieving what I needed was surprisingly easy, the shelves were sorted by alphabetical order and each crate, barrel or glass pot were labeled in several languages. It took me a few minutes to find what I wanted; the Harpy eye globes and Chimera teeth were needed only in small proportion so they easily fit in the bottomless pouch on my belt, but the Salamander beating heart was contained inside a enchanted crystal pot to keep it beating. I didn't know what enchantments and what potion were within the pot, but I knew that I couldn't just shrink it, and it was way too big to fit in my pouch.

I had prepared myself for this, and as planned, I conjured a leather belt and tied the thing around Rocky's body.

After ordering Rocky to stay with me and Stony to go find the next section, I continued my journey through the hostile warehouse.

I didn't wonder why it was so empty despite the alarm ringing for long. _They probably decided I was too dangerous to confront the usual way. _I thought darkly, facing the angry beast in front of me.

It was a feet taller than me, snarling and hissing angrily. Its snake-headed tail wiggled to focus on me as its three heads growled dangerously, their red eyes set on their prey. The hot breath was distorting the air in front of me, menacing to overwhelm me with fire at any moment. The hideous chimera was at least five centuries old, to be this big and meaty. A lion head with sharp teeth and a golden royal mane looked hauntingly at me, like if was considering if it should eat me or not; a dragon head produced incandescent ashes as it was breathing through its nose, drooling slightly at the sight of a meal, and the last head was easily the most disturbing; a goat head, with darker than black fur, murderous looking horns and eyes a lot redder than the others, almost glowing with malice.

The second my eyes connected with the goat's eyes, I felt a inhuman mental shock and reeled back, retching and coughing mentally. My brain hurt for a few seconds, recovering from the incredibly violent and fast assault. _That's the strongest mental attack I ever experienced._

For a moment, I stared at the central head, the lion one and waited. Then, in a split second, it roared madly and the dragon head sent a column of fire to me. I jumped back and only got sprayed in dragon fire for a few seconds before being out of range. It had been enough for me to feel the heat inside the armor. I whipped my wand to it as it leaped forward, deploying its dragon wings and knocking numerous barrels down.

"_Secaferox! Secaferox! Zahladit!_" I shouted, not bothering with silent casting in this precarious situation. The goat opened its mouth and shrieked suddenly, a shriek that sounded nothing like a goat and produced an almost visible sound wave that somehow destroyed my first _Secaferox_, making it explode like a deep blue firework rocket.

"What the fuck!" I blurted out, already moving my wand for the next spell as the second dark cutter was dodged by the beast, surprisingly habile in mid-air. The Explosion curse missed all the same and the chimera was now rapidly closing in.

"_Frigidi Mortem! Duonexufulmen!_" I tried, sending two of my most powerful curses to the unbelievable monster.

It spat a huge ball of fire before dropping on the ground, avoiding the ice wave. The white lightning curse almost hit, but it dodged it neatly with a swift sidestep, amazing me once more with its speed and agility despite its weight and size.

I jumped on the side to avoid the fireball and grabbed my axe. In a few steps, the beast would be on me. The fireball crashed behind me and produced a huge wave of heat and fire when my eyes spotted the white dot.

My lighting curse from before had traveled down the whole alley and was about to hit the wall on the other side. It all happened in a second, I grinned and jumped to my left; the chimera sprang on its legs and leaped to me as I raised my wand, focusing on the lightning curse.

It hit the wall and linked my wand to it with a massive white lightning bolt, producing a deafening thunder that the whole Amazonian forest probably heard and channeling a colossal voltage through the chimera in front of me. It was over as quickly as it came, the chimera ended its jump onto me, dragged me on a few feet and crashed against the shelf behind me, getting buried under dozens of burning crates and barrels.

I breathed heavily and turned to the beast.

"You're not dead." I spoke aloud. _If it was dead, I'd be drowning in dark magic feedback. _I thought, not satisfied with the small amount of pleasure I was receiving.

I aimed and the rumbling heap of burning wood and watched the badly wounded chimera stand up. The damage wasn't clearly visible, but blood dripped from the eyes and ears of the heads, and it sported an impressive burn scar on its side that expanded like a thousand spider webs.

"Avada Kedavra!" I tried, only to see the goat open its horrible mouth wide, and _swallow_ it easily.

Not confident for a second round of heavy magic, I grabbed my axe and jumped toward the beast, not forgetting the necessary war cry.

It dodged my first swing and hit my torso with its left paw, tearing deep gashes in the goblin steel with its claws. I took the blow and punched the goat right in the face with my left fist. The goat shrieked just before the fist connected, almost blasting me away, but I was too heavy and strong. I pushed more strength in my fist and positively crushed its skull in a nasty explosion of blood and flesh that painted my suit. The chimera reeled back and roared with its two remaining heads, dousing me in dragon fire again.

I swung my axe, crushing the stone floor where it had been a second ago. I raised my head and saw the chimera through the remains of dragon fire, grinning widely. _Think you escaped this one?_ Elemental magic exploded from the tip of my axe, producing a hissing lightning bolt that ran and caught the chimera's legs in a split second.

The beast got electrocuted for the second time and wailed its pain while taking off difficultly with its wounded dragon wings. I took the opportunity to douse fresh conjured water on my over-heated armor, ignoring the steam it produced.

I was panting heavily, exhausted and hurt, a few of my bones were probably cracked, much of my skin burned and the cuts on my torso bleeding rather heavily. _Nothing my regenerating capacities can't take care of. I hope._

I conjured three steel tridents and banished them at the chimera, along with three _Secaferox_ and a killing curse in the middle. The beast was badly hurt, its wings had been almost reduced to ash by the lightning and it was bleeding a lot from the ex-goat head, I knew it couldn't escape the grid of spell I had sent.

It decided to take a trident in the thorax instead of the curses and dove on me again, spitting two gigantic fireballs. I summoned a crate from the side and blocked the fireball that was threatening to hit me.

The crate exploded more violently than it should have, throwing me and the chimera back several feet and knocking down the wall-shelves. Fire rained everywhere, incandescent metal pieces and smoking wood chunks clattered around me and on my armor as I stood up slowly, wondering just what could have generated such a huge explosion. _Probably Erumpent Horns._

The chimera didn't give up, it stood up again and charged to me. I raised my wand.

"_Ventignis Caede!_" I shouted, sending a small fireball. I escorted it with two _Secaferox_, knowing that the beast couldn't fly anymore. _You'll eat the fireball, I know you will. You're not scared of fire._ The monster followed my thought and let the apparently harmless fireball crash against its massive body, not stopping its charge.

"Well you should be!" I laughed madly, opening my arms to the sides. The fireball exploded suddenly, creating a huge hurricane of fire and strong wind expanding itself like a terrifying death wave. The chimera was thrown in the air and crashed against the ceiling before falling again, its fur burning and its muscles torn by the clashing winds. It tried to use its dead wings but failed miserably. The fire shockwave washed over me, almost tripping me before dying naturally.

I panted again. My whole body hurt, my left arm was itching viciously, burning from the use of powerful magic, my mind was sweating, plunged in a cold pool of dark magic bliss. It felt wonderful and unbearable at the same time. I grabbed a phial from my belt and opened my helm a bit to drink the unhealthy Pepper-Up without breathing the suspicious red smog, if there was any left in this messed up area.

I looked around, the place was a battlefield. The fire was slowly dying due to a lack of wood, the crates were charmed against fire and only those directly hit by chimerian dragon fire had burned. Somehow, in my battle against the chimera, I had destroyed a good portion of the ground; deep streaks and cracks were visible in the stone.

Rocky, my loyal wolf, trotted to me, the pot tied on his back still secure. I walked to the crawling chimera, my wand pointed to it. The dragon head was either dead or unconscious from the fall, blood poured from its open mouth, mixed with inflammable saliva. It was trying to escape. _Oh no you don't._

"Execution by axe, or magic?" I asked, walking around it. Two of its legs were broken and the conjured trident of mine was still deeply embedded in its thick flesh. Only survivor, the majestic lion head whined pitifully, gurgling blood and breathing with difficulty.

"Magic has the advantage of making me feel _wonderful_, but at the same time it's tiring..." I commented and pointed my wand at it. It stared at me and closed its eyes quietly, knowing it was the end.

_It deserves at least that._ I thought as I flicked my wand.

"Secaferox."

I watched the severed lion head roll and the gallons of blood spill on the stone floor.

I sat down on a metal locker. By the time I had finished tasting the delicious death of the beast and recovered a bit, the fires were dead and the destroyed alley silent.

I noticed only now the numerous tremors above me. I could hear loud thumps and rumbling on the superior level, voices shouting and hundreds of steps, some way louder than the others. I narrowed my eyes at the ceiling. _Whatever is going on up there, it can't be good._

I made my way to the XXXXX Creatures Products section and retrieved a copious amount of Dementor saliva and Phoenix tears without any problem. I doubted they had another Chimera to release, it had probably been their trump card. The noise at the superior level only increased as I was shopping, it was sounding more and more like an all-out war. _They might be too busy to take care of me._

With the help of my wolves and the lack of resistance, it took me a few minutes to find the XXX Creature Parts and steal a bunch of Banshee Cloth, the least rare item I was taking.

"One more thing, Moondust." I said as I looked up. _According to how they store all the Creature related goods in the underground level, I can safely assume everything else is up there._ I remembered the various items I had seen before going underneath.

I sighed and climbed the staircase. The entrance to the upper level was crudely barricaded, a bunch of stones had been hastily dumped to block the access.I sent a pair of heavy banishers and destroyed the barricade easily.

Behind it was the single most breathtaking view I had ever witnessed. It was, like I had thought sooner, an all-out war. There was two distinct sides, but it was so mixed and chaotic that I couldn't really say who was against who. There were clear cases, though, like the huge leopard fighting a bear-squid like stone golem in the middle of a devastated area, or the Mage Knight defending his position against a dozen wizards, and losing. I couldn't see all of it, as some high shelves were still standing and unscathed, but the ground shook every so often, and the echoes didn't let any doubt that all the warehouse was under assault.

There was a voice, over the constant ringing of the alarm and the roars of the battle, an enhanced voice that kept repeating the same words over and over in an authoritative tone. I didn't understand those words, but their meaning didn't escape me: it was a call for surrender.

I spotted a contingent of the local workers behind a low wall on my right, they were loading muggle weapons and talking in quick Spanish, obviously panicked. There were a few wizards with them, shouting frantically in communication pocket mirrors.

An idea spawning in my head, I swiftly made my way to them.

"Lamina Confluunt."

Stony jumped forward and surprised the party, landing on one of the wizard and starting to maul his face with its claw. They yelled and backpedaled from the angry beast, my silver blades hissed and killed three wizards in an instant. Only one was left.

"Imperio." The muggle around only noticed me at this moment and stared at me in horror. _I must look quite terrifying, with that armor and the various damages from my battle against the Chimera..._ I mused as I commanded the imperiused thug to lead me to the XXXXX Hazardous Material wing.

The muggles tried to take me down and fired their weapons, surprising me with the loudness and speed of the projectiles. _Those could be quite dangerous for a standard wizard._ The dozen projectiles from their rifle produced a unbearable cacophony on my metal suit, scratching it slightly at each impact. Stony jumped on one and killed him with a voracious bite in the neck, I grabbed my axe and slammed it on the ground. The remaining muggles ran away. I chuckled happily and cursed one in the back with a quick skin shredding curse, only to enjoy a bit of his pain on my way to moondust.

The imperiused guide was leading me along the north wall of the warehouse, apparently conserving his survival instincts through the Imperius. The wall offered us a small protection against the constant stream of spells that flew over the alleys.

A big fire wave suddenly assaulted us, I whipped my wand an quickly cast a battle level shield in front of my guide, letting the heat wash over me. I turned my head and saw a Mage Knight wiggling his wand toward me. I hadn't the time to appreciate his finely decorated golden armor, by the time he had finished the spell, the ground in front of him ripped itself and formed dangerous spikes of stone that would surely tear one of my limb according to how fast they sprouted out of the gash. I jumped to the side and saw the line of approaching spikes become a curve and follow me in my jump. _Fuck!_

"_Confringo!_" The spell made its way to the soon to be rock spike and exploded at the impact. Boulders and square stones were vaporized in a billion pebbles and bounced off the shield that protected my guide as I landed on my back, unable to control my fall after the shockwave. I jumped on my feet and saw the Mage Knight closing in, a big great sword in his hand. My eyes widened as I realized he would behead me before I could cast something and I dived on him, avoiding the swinging sword and tackling him by the stomach. The shock of the two metallic armors rang in my ears and we fell on the ground a few feet further. I jumped back and pointed my wand at him.

"_Frigidi Mortem!_" I bellowed, pushing all my might in the shout. The cold blast spawned suddenly and raced to him, freezing everything in its path, even the remaining red fog. His sword still in his hand, he roared a furious roar behind his helm and his blade sprouted a blazing fire, dispelling the cold wave as it reached him. Only half of his armor was covered in frost and it was already melting, his sword producing a gradually increasing fire.

I sent a quick perforation curse to test his suit and was pleased to see he wasn't protected with Adamantine. Few Mage Knights actually used Adamantine, the defense offered by goblin steel was more than enough for most of their tasks.

"_Secaferox!_" the wide range cutting spell raced to him and he jumped above it. I smirked. "_Duonexufulmen!_" I shouted at him, managing the wand movement faster than I thought possible and sending the white curse at his mid-air position. He tried to limit the damage by taking it in the arm, obviously not knowing what spell it was. The lightning bolt that followed illuminated the whole place for a second, the thunder killed any other sound as the enormous current traveled in the metallic armor and flesh inside it.

He dropped to the ground on his knees, his whole being generating a black smoke. The metal itself was still a bit orange and molten from the insane voltage it had taken, and a cascade of blood poured from the neck opening of the helm.

I laughed madly. My magic laughed, my flesh laughed, my blood laughed at the death of the powerful knight. Each lungful of air that I inhaled was like a thousand Zenox shots, each tear that dripped from my joyful eyes was like climaxing a thousand times. I was in my own Valhalla, my own Nirvana. Finally bathing in the endless bliss of Dark Magic. I had killed a lot today, and finally I was rewarded. I laughed insanely again, not able to stop. Not able to think.

"The moondust!" I roared to my guide between two intake of fresh ecstasy. "Lead me, fool!"

The guide nodded and started to trot again, me following him. My mind was clouded, I wanted to rip my guide apart with the nastiest spell I knew, just because. I could feel my wand wiggling with excitement, eager to discharge more of its endless supplies of chaos and death.

I was suddenly stopped, by metal bars. A cage, to be precise. I was trapped in a metal cage. More bars were appearing, I jerked my eyes to my left and spotted them. A squad of wizards, all in the same uniform, were working together on the trap from a distance. _That isn't a standard conjured trap. _I thought, trying to bend one of the bar with my strength and failing. _A trap ritual, without a doubt._

Another Mage Knight was making his way to me, pointing at me with his wand.

"You are trapped. Surrender." he spoke strongly with a heavy accent.

I laughed again, a pleasant belly laugh reverberated by my helm like the strangest sound that could emanate from a human being.

_This is for you. _I giggled to my wand.

"Exsiliunt et metet. Adolebit et devorabit. Ego mutuum _Fiendfyre!_" I barked dramatically, opening my arms to the side, not bothering to aim anywhere.

The gargantuan fiery beast exploded out of me, melting the metal bar with its demonic heat, and roared like it always did. The insane roar echoed throughout the warehouse and came back in my ears as it smashed its legs on the ground and growled, finally whole. The terrible fire was dancing joyfully, echoing my own state, the state of my magic, and the wolf-like demon peered at me.

'_I am your master, and I give you chaos. Kill at will, devour everything.' _I ordered the beast before it could try anything, not moving my gaze away from its two cosmic eyes. It opened its mouth in a cruel and maddening smile, its face constantly changing as the enormous flames danced.

'_I am Loerderth, I will bring death upon your opponents, Master._' Its voice was a growl, deeper and rasher than anything from the mortal realm and echoed in my brain, shaking me in my pool of ecstasy, replacing the fog of bliss with fiery flames of fury and viciousness.

The Mage Knight had tried a few spell but the fiendfyre around me had burned them without efforts.

"_Aqua Purarietem!_" he spat, producing a fairly huge blast of water that looked like a battering ram. The thing exploded in a massive cloud of steam when it hit the demonic fire, earning nothing but an angry roar.

I left the area and ordered my guide to go on. The fiendfyre leaped on the Mage Knight and doused him solid fire, destroying the ground at the same time, reducing the stone to ash and leaving him no chance to escape. Many of the fighters were now retreating at the sight of the giant infernal wolf, almost big enough to touch the ceiling.

The XXXXX Hazardous Products section was at the far end of the warehouse, behind a thick magic-proof metal gate. My guide couldn't help me to open it so I simply destroyed its hinges with my axe. It took me a few minutes of hard work, but finally the massive door slammed on the floor. The fight in the warehouse had almost stopped now, both sides were thinking their next move. Loederth had been vanished at some point, but I didn't know how. _Some of these wizards are truly powerful if they can handle such a powerful fiendfyre apparition. _I thought darkly.

I had pondered on the situation for a moment while destroying the gate and came to the conclusion that the government was leading an attack on the warehouse either by pure coincidence or because they spotted an opening when I triggered the alarm. _They're probably thinking about sending more powerful people now, seeing how bad the attack is going._

I spotted the "M" shelves and found the moondust. Barrels and barrels of it. I lifted one and poured its content in my second endless pouch.

Moondust was nothing more than glittery white sand. I laughed a humorless laugh. _To think the mess that is my life turned out to be so chaotic because of that. Fucking sand._

Two barrels later, I closed the pouch and secured it on my belt. _Anything hits that, its gonna be one hell of a ride._

The Auror forces had apparently retreated out of the warehouse, all sounds of battle had vanished. I easily tore myself an exit in the wall and emerged outside. My shopping was done, I now had to get away as fast as possible. _Easier said than done._

The government assault squads had established a defensive perimeter and were now facing a group of mercenaries most likely employed by Aleksandro. Mercenaries were serious business, a squad of 12 Mage Knights were fighting against the Aurors Mage Knights, in smaller number. The battle was impressive, both sides had deployed their best troops from what I could see.

The Knights were above me and any of the ones I had fought until now, easily. They sent spells after spells, endless chains and transfigured beasts all around. One of them seemed to have control on Elemental Magic, he single-handedly destroyed three mercenaries with restless attacks of ice and earth, encasing them and tearing them apart. The mercenaries weren't helpless though, they used their agility and strength to dodge the elements and send powerful magic all around.

_I would get killed instantly against one of these guys._ I thought, but another part of me didn't want to hear that. A part of me was still bathing in dark magic feedback, still swallowing lumps of raw pleasure. _I could take them all, kill them all._ I grinned.

_Too bad my shopping is over. I must go home._ I rationalized, forcing myself to walk away.

I left the incredible scene and entered the jungle. I ran for a few moments, feeling the exhaustion and pain beginning to hit as I got out of my battle trance. I was almost out of the anti apparition ward when they arrived.

Four cracks announced them and I spun around, ordering Stony to hide and Rocky to go ahead and find the end of the ward, one of the ingredient was still tied to its back.

In front of me were four law enforcers, two of them were Mage Knights. _The anti apparition ward must be theirs if they're keyed in. Not that it matters._

"You are under arrest! Surrender!" yelled one, making me wonder how he knew I didn't speak Spanish. _They probably assumed I was a stranger, since I stole a few items and am currently escaping..._

"You have no business arresting me, I don't work for Aleksandro." I replied hopefully.

"You will be judged fairly. Drop your wand."

"Just let me go, if you wish to avoid anymore bloodshed." I hissed dangerously, grabbing my axe slowly.

It happened very quickly, the red-armored knight sent a very strong wind gust my way, tossing me back in some bushes that were being transfigured into a solid rock hand. The hand grasped me, its strength too much for me to force it open. I ordered Stony to attack one of the Aurors to give me a few seconds. The wolf sprang on the older wizard and bite his face angrily, showering the scene in blood as it tore the head apart with its strong neck.

The knights spun around and destroyed Stony with what I recognized as a fissure spell. The few seconds I had earned were enough for me to transfigure the rock hand into water and drop on the ground.

"_Ventignis caede! Mocnahladit! Mocnahladit!_" I spat, chaining the spells for the first time in a quick motion, aiming at the ground. One of the knights jumped, grabbing the remaining Auror on the way, and the other conjured an impressive chunk of metal to protect himself.

The explosion curses hit _hard_, I couldn't exactly say how much of the jungle it had blew up since I had been sent flying by the shockwave, but I knew it would put a good distance between us. I smashed through a tree and landed on the ground, wincing and coughing some blood. I stood up and saw the fire a few dozen feet away, shaken by the violent hurricane created by the _Ventignis_ curse. They hadn't been hurt, I would have felt something from the dark magic. _Tough bastards._

I started to run again, wondering where was north and south. It had quite dazed me to be thrown away, especially the shock of landing so hard. _Being eight hundred pounds has its drawbacks too._

Rocky called me, barking in my mind to tell me he had found the end of the yard and I instinctively changed my course, knowing where it was.

The Mage Knights apparated again on my path and almost beheaded me with a swing of war hammer. I jumped above the second one and took a white spell in the cuirass. The Adamantine negated the magic and the spell exploded, only scratching my armor. _I know that spell, that fucker tried to electrocute me._

Anger suddenly rose into me and I sent a _Duonexufulmen _to the one that had cast it. He dove to the side and shot an ice spear to me. The spear broke against me, but the shock pushed me back. The other one closed in me and punched me in the face. I reeled back, the strength of the punch had destroyed one of my thorns and almost knocked me out. I felt a lot of blood dripping down my neck. I crouched under the second punch and pushed him back, I took my axe from my back and dove to my right, avoiding a conjured metallic net.

"_Frigidi Mortem!_" The frost wave caught the nearest knight and froze him on the spot. The other dispelled it with a fireball in my direction. I let the fireball crash against me and leaped to him, my axe ready to strike. He conjured a large blade and banished it to me just before I could hack him in two pieces.

_Fuck!_ I tried to fall on the side to avoid it but it was too fast, the banisher he had used was beyond anything I ever saw. In a flash, the blade went through my arm and continued in the sky. My left hand had been cut at the forearm, blood sprayed from the cut as I crashed on the ground, wailing in pain.

I kicked him in the ankle, making him fall before he could think of a way to apprehend me and sprung on my feet. I sheathed my axe in my back and stuffed my severed hand in my belt before disappearing in the jungle, followed closely by two spells. One passed by me and the other hit, overpowering the thin Adamantine layer and breaking my right tibia.

I spun around and pushed all the remaining power I could in a last attempt at hindering them.

"Exsiliunt et metet..." I breathed heavily, feeling warm blood leave my mouth as I summoned the devil for a second time, "Adolebit et devorabit..." I stopped and slumped against a tree, making it creak painfully under my weight, offhandedly noticing that I was about to bleed out, "Ego mutuum..." I took a sharp intake of air, "_Fiendfyre!_" I shouted, feeling my strength leave me as the hellish hound spurted out of my body and consumed the vegetation around me, its dominating roar resounding in the whole forest.

I downed my last boosted Pepper-Up potion, admitting that I couldn't go on without it and hoping it wouldn't kill me. _With all the shit I crammed in a single phial, it's a miracle I didn't pass out at the first..._ I winced and cauterized my bleeding forearm with a crude _Incendio _, not knowing any other way to stop the bleeding. I downed a phial of blood replenishing potion and started to run again, ignoring my broken leg; the armor helped me to not fall and maintained my leg straight on my journey to Rocky.

I heard the ferocious roars of Loederth behind me and could smell the odor of death and ashes through my helm. _Hell, it's probably not hermetic anymore, not with that punch I took._ I chuckled, noticing only now that my right eye was covered in blood and mostly useless.

I reached the edge of the ward and Rocky after a few minutes of almost passing out and panting heavily, my body burning with exhaustion. I had pushed my magical muscle further than it should have taken, and once the Pepper-Up would run out, I knew I'd be in for a few weeks of continuous rest.

"Come here, Rocky. Good wolf." I muttered, grabbing the pot from its back. I had planned to apparate back in the marketplace and take a portkey to England, but now the plan seemed stupid as hell. _I can't just pop in the street in that state, I must look like I've been through half a dozen wars._

"Pendejo! Te voy a matar!" bellowed a crispy voice from behind me. I turned around and saw one of the Mage Knights from before, he had lost an arm and was _badly_ burned. His armor was scorched and smoking, presumably thanks to Loedreth; he ran toward me with a war hammer in his right hand, shouting his lungs out. I dodged the first blow and stabilized myself with difficulty as the hammer triggered a mini earthquake.

'_Attack, Rocky!'_

The wolf jumped to him, but he backhanded it, letting the hammer go. The sheer strength of the hit obliterated Rocky's head, and consequently its body. My only available hand was holding the pot, and my only available leg was busy holding me upright, I had to think of an exit quickly.

My half burned opponent was too fast, he pinned me to the ground and raised his fist above me. I closed my eyes and screamed mentally. _I need to get out! NOW!_

My body was suddenly thrown around, my flesh got squished in a familiar yet unknown feeling, I opened my eyes and all of a sudden was thrown on the ground again. I yelped as my broken leg absorbed the shock and I rolled around.

I knew what had happened. _Apparition. But it was different. Stronger and ... more painful._ I stood up and watched around me. I knew this place.

"The Dean Forest... I apparated right into England..." I muttered. This wasn't good. I had to smash through the country's redirection wards to do that. International Apparition was controlled by the Ministry, one shouldn't be able to apparate where he wants but instead be redirected into the Ministry's travel wing.

A rustle stopped my thoughts, I jerked my head to it and spotted the burnt Mage Knight slowly standing up. _What? I apparated him along?_

I carefully placed the pot on the floor and grabbed my axe.

"That's for Rocky!" I roared, swinging the axe vertically. He saw me too late to dodge and took the blow right on the collarbone. I hadn't used any magic but the sheer weight of the axe plus my strength easily chopped the knight in two. Blood sprayed once again on my armor, painting it red if it wasn't already and the defeated wizard fell to the ground in a mess of organs and bodily fluids.

Four cracks resounded around me and I found myself surrounded by Aurors coming to investigate the illegal international apparition. I quickly grabbed my axe and the Legendary Salamander heart pot with my right hand.

"Shit! Stop hi-" I didn't hear the rest of the sentence, I apparated right into the forbidden forest, leaving the Aurors to wonder who I was and where I was gone.

I fell on my knees right as I popped in my usual apparition spot of the forbidden forest, unable to move an inch more. I dropped my axe on the ground and placed the pot beside it. _I need to see a healer if I want to fix my hand... it will be too late if I wait too much._

I took half an hour to take my armor off, in the middle of the forbidden forest. I knew most beasts in the area feared me and wouldn't dare attacking. The helm was the hardest part to take off, the metal had been caved in my skull and tearing it off ripped flesh and skin off me, opening the dry wound again for a second round of bleeding.

I was in an awful state. My body was covered in scratches and bruises, more than I thought; my broken leg was ugly, very ugly, purple and swollen and my skin was unusually pink at several places, having only recently healed from the indirect burns. My ribs were obviously cracked at several places and maybe broken, and my upper body was covered in dried and fresh dripping blood - not to mention my missing hand.

I transfigured a leaf into a cloak, wincing at the excruciating pain of magic exhaustion and felt tears come on their own. _The Pepper-Up is still working, I have my chances._

I took a deep breath and apparated to London, focusing immensely on it to avoid splinching myself.

I found myself puking blood and crying profusely in front of St Mungo's main entrance and stood up._ Almost there._

Covered with the cloak, I entered the hospital and avoided the main desk. I longed the wall and directly entered the corridor leading to the rooms. I ignored the calls of a nurse and accelerated, feeling my tibia creak at each step but experiencing only a tenth of the pain thanks to the home-made Pepper-Up. I spotted a senior healer in a room with a patient and entered.

I slammed the door behind me and closed the window blind with a sharp pull on the string.

"Who are you?"

"Stupefy." I answered, stunning the man in the bed. "Imperio." I continued as the healer made to grab his wand from his back pocket. I dropped to the ground when the spell connected and vomited some blood. I rolled on my back, unable to do anything more and muttered to the blank eyed healer.

"Heal my hand and my leg." I asked, knowing that as a Healer, he wouldn't resist the command.

The man quickly did as I asked, he levitated me on a bed and left the room without a word. He came back a few minutes later with a bunch of potions and started to work on my hand. He made me drink a painkiller potion along with two I couldn't identify and healed the burn on my forearm with his wand, skillfully casting spells over both parts of my arm. He knew what he was doing, and he did it well.

A few minutes later, my leg was fixed and he was applying salve on my re-attached forearm. He handed me a blood replenishing potion. I drank the thing and flexed my hand. It was numb, I couldn't feel it, but it was responding.

"What do I need to do to make sure it heals properly?"

"Apply ointment everyday during a week. Cut was clean and non magical, no after effects." he answered helpfully. I nodded and jumped off the bed.

"Bring me two bottles of ointment and the best regeneration potion you can get."

An obliviation charm later, I left the Hospital with an S-class Regeneration potion and enough ointment for a month. I apparated back in the Forest and crawled to the nearest tree. I placed myself on a fat twig to avoid being eaten in my sleep and closed my eyes.

I passed out instantly.

* * *

**_An: Here it is. I'm sorry I'm not able to update faster, I have a lot of things happening around me for some reason. I'm thinking of going back to being a neet. It was neat, no pun intended._**


	16. Chapter 16

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**Too Young to Die.**

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**Chapter 16.**

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* * *

When I opened my eyes again, I thought I was going to suffocate, my body felt sore and my throat dry, I felt like I had died sometime in the night.

I climbed down the tree slowly and gathered my things. _Strange, there's no blood on my suit, it's clean._

I looked around suspiciously and suddenly it came to me. I looked at my watch and squinted to read the date.

_Tuesday... I've been out for four days_. I looked up to the tree I had slept on. _Four days on that twig._ I hadn't moved in those four days, or I would have fallen. The rain that had washed my suit didn't wake me up, nor did the cycles of sun and moon or the probably various insects and birds that had poked my limp body out of curiosity.

My stomach gurgled, reminding me that I hadn't eaten in those four days neither. I grabbed my wand and tried a cleaning charm on myself. Using magic didn't hurt, but it felt still a bit sore. Four days without applying the ointment would probably make the scar permanent, I thought as I spread the dark green substance on the scar, berating myself for this lack of planning.

I looked around for an animal to eat and I spotted a familiar white bird watching me from a branch.

"Hedwig!" I laughed, happy to see a friendly face at last. Hedwig hooted happily and flew down to me, a bunch of letters in her grasp. I petted her for a while and started to read the letters, most of them had been wet and dried but still readable. _She probably took care of my mail since she understood I left the house._

One came from Zachary, who basically told me that I had to come home because the whole Order was freaking out, another came from Albus Dumbledore, head of said Order, asking me to come home to discuss it calmly and the others were nothing more than the usual letters from my Hogwarts acquaintances.

Followed by Hedwig, I walked back to my cave and unloaded all the good I had stolen on the big flat rock that had served me so well during the creation of my armour. I now had all the illegal ingredients I needed to perform the Melor Ritual as I had decided to name it, in homage to Yevgeny Melor, the Russian Necromancer that made it possible.

I placed the armor against the wall and took a few steps back to appraise it. Much like my body, it was quite wrecked. The helm was the worst part, one of the two bull horns had been snapped by the punch that had nearly killed me, and the right side was nastily caved in. The cuirass had many impacts and scratches on it and a few deep gashes from the Chimera. It was a bit deformed here and here, it had some scorching traces and sharp bumps all over it but was still consistent. Most of the other parts were unscathed except for a few scratches, and my left greave had been chopped along with my hand, but the cut was so clean I didn't need to even fix it; a leather belt would be enough to hold it firmly in position.

I took an hour to wash my wounds in the river and freshen myself with a few dozen cleaning charms, put my everyday clothes on and apparated to a small wizard town near the Dean Forest. I walked down a few houses and spotted the one I was looking for. The Justice manor. Alyson and me had become closer lately, and I knew I could trust the Slytherin witch to not blab about me to anyone.

I rang at the metal gate. The manor wasn't a big one, it was merely a big house with a small domain in front of it. It looked nice and rich, but it wasn't really much. _I hope they have a nice shower booth, I could use one._

"Harry! Long time no see!" she squeaked and trotted to me to hug me. I took the hug and smiled to her.

"Hello, Alyson. Care to let me in?"

"Oh my god, Harry! You look terrible. And you smell like... the forest?" She opened the door and I followed her inside the modest manor.

"What happened to you?"

"What? Do I look that bad?"

"You look like you haven't eaten or drink anything in a month and washed yourself in a lake."

"Yeah well, I admit I wouldn't spit on some meat and a nice shower." I shrugged and watched at her expectantly.

Her eyes widened.

"You actually come here to ask for food?"

"I came here to see you, but I can very well go and eat in a muggle fast food shop if that's a problem."

"No, it's okay - Norbert!" A house elf appeared next to her and took my order of red meat and water. We sat down at the main table and waited for the elf to cook the food.

"So your parents are away?" I asked, pretending to care at least a small bit.

"My parents? They're working." she answered, not looking away from me. "Let's talk about _your_ parents. You know they owled me to know where you were? That was about two days ago."

"What? Why you? I never told them about us..." I was genuinely surprised.

"I guess they deduced it from the letters I sent to you... letters that you didn't answer to, may I add." The elf appeared again and served me a plate of lamb and French fries with a fresh jug of water.

Alyson took a sip from my glass and watched me intently. "So, you disappear from your home, right after your dad gets fired from the Auror corps for making a public announcement about the return of You-Know-Who, and you come to my house five days later, looking like you've spent the holiday in a bear trap, and ask for food and water. That plus the nasty wound on your head and the obvious terrible state you're in, makes me wonder exactly what the hell happened to you, Harry."

She hadn't stopped staring at me the whole time, her eyes showing excitement. She was enjoying the mystery around me. "Should I add that exactly four days ago, an unknown person broke the international apparition wards and dropped a dead Mage Knight who happened to be an official of the Venezuelan Ministry, right in the middle of the Dean Forest." she added in a lower tone, her eyes narrowing.

I laughed heartily.

"You think I killed an Auror? What would I even be doing in god damn Venezuela, out of all places to visit in the world? Alyson, you're insane." I tried to look like I didn't take her seriously, but I started to wonder how much trouble I was putting myself into. _She's too perceptive for her own good._

"Graham Montague." she answered calmly, still not tearing her eyes apart from me.

"Montague? What about him?"

"Don't think I didn't saw the links, Harry. He died a few days after you attacked him on the pitch and I was in the middle of the fight, I know what happened. He kept ranting about how he was gonna make you pay for the affront in the common room, and he privately told me that he would hurt you for real, probably to scare me. Guess what, I was scared for you, but the day after, he was dead. And in the most suspicious fashion. I did a bit of research and discovered that you had been sent out of class this afternoon by professor Moody, who turned out to be a Death Eater under disguise... I don't get all of it, but I'm pretty certain you had your hand in it."

"Christ, Alyson, you're way out of bounds. Come back on planet earth!" I answered with a laugh. "I was in the library with Isabel, a Ravenclaw friend of mine. And didn't it go through your head that maybe, what Montague meant by 'hurt me for real' involved Dementors, thus explaining why he foolishly tried to steal one?" I took a piece of meat and ate it like it was my first meal in years.

"Montague was an idiot, an asshole even, I'm glad he's dead to be honest, but it doesn't make any sense for him to try and steal a Dementor. Everybody agreed on that in the Slytherin community."

"Well, I don't see how I would have set the whole thing up anyway, or do you mean I also killed those Ministry workers?"

"Ever since my second year, when that prefect warned us about you, I knew there was something weird about you, Harry. Guess what happened to that prefect? He was expelled for having tried to hurt you and presumably hurt a few other first years. But you were the only one with him when it happened, nobody else know what was said. I've always been suspicious of you, and things have gotten out of hand in the last year, your brother calling you a dark lord in public, you crashing in the main tower and being unharmed, the fight against Montague, his death, everything is getting weirder and weirder."

I continued my meal, wondering where she was going and when I'd have to obliviate her.

"So I asked a few of your close Hufflepuff friends about you, and strangely enough, they have nothing to say. They're actually kind of weird, often not even responding when I ask about you, like if they were somehow unaware of your doings. At first I thought they were just being Hufflepuff, but then I asked more questions and drove them into traps to contradict themselves. It took me a few days to notice something is really amiss with them, the weirdest being Loren, the girl you dated for two years before dumping for no apparent reason. She literally hadn't a thing to say about you, nothing whatsoever."

I swallowed my meat and sighed softly. She was very close to make me mad, mentioning Loren out of nowhere like this.

"That's when I understood what was going on. You obliviated her, Harry." she concluded, apparently not scared to reveal all her suspicions to me.

"Guess who else had been massively obliviated a few month after that? Your twin. A few month after he called you a dark wizard and accused you of having put his name in the cup. He was brutally assaulted, almost killed and completely obliviated... I know Moody took all the blame and I know it sounds mad but... I'm sure you're not innocent in this mess."

"Er..." I tried.

"And now, on top of all this madness around you, you get to my house, looking like you're an escaped war prisoner, a few days after the event that triggered a massive chaos known as the Britain-Venezuela affair. Say, Harry, would you show me your left arm?"

I finished the last piece of meat and placed the fork down.

"So what? I'm a serial killer and Obliviator, and I declared war to Venezuela or something?" I chortled, slowly picking my wand out of my pocket.

"I don't know exactly what you are, but you're way more of a Slytherin than anybody I know, and I want to be with you." she answered quickly, standing up as she saw me rising from my chair.

I pointed my wand at her in a flash. The atmosphere around us suddenly dropped a few hundred degrees.

"Y-You could obliviate me, but be aware that I stored all of my suspicions in a Pensieve and will be able to retrieve them. And if you kill me, the Daily Prophet will get a nice letter explaining why you killed me."

She watched my wand with no small amount of fear, but kept her feet steady and her voice only wavered a bit.

"What do you want?" _She's probably not bluffing, damn! I chose the wrong witch to visit today..._

"I want to be with you. I believe that You-Know-Who is back, everybody in Slytherin believes it and I trust some of my classmates to have real intel on the matter. I want to work with you and earn... your protection, I guess. I am scared of the Dark Lord, Harry, I know my bloodline isn't pure enough if anybody looks into it and I don't have enough connections to be safe. I don't want to get killed by some Death Eater thug for some half-assed reason, Harry!" she all but whined, still clearly unnerved by my wand.

"And you think I can do anything to help you?" I asked incredulously. What she expected from me, I had no idea.

"You're powerful and dangerous, Harry. I don't care what you say, you're cunning and clever, you're going to be someone more dangerous than Malfoy or any of the other dumbasses in Slytherin. And, well... I kinda feel like it's working well between us." She didn't blush but I thought the immediate threat of death that my wand posed was the only reason.

I sighed.

"Look, Alyson... I don't plan on becoming a strong wizard or anything, I'm about as cunning as a bludger and don't even plan to defend myself from You-Know-Who, to be honest. I have something to do and once it's done, I'll disappear from Britain. I'll take a one-way portkey to some secluded place and get away from here. I can't protect you." I answered honestly, wondering how I could get out of this situation.

"Then take me with you." she replied immediately.

I looked at her critically and thought about it. _There could be some potential here._

"You said I couldn't Obliviate or kill you, but you forgot another possibility." She raised her eyebrows and looked at my wand again, fear creeping on her beautiful features. "I could cast the Imperius curse on you and have you destroy each one of your precautions before killing you, or I could read in your mind, kill you and proceed to dismantle your operation afterward. I'm sure I could find a few other solutions if I put my mind into it."

"I-I didn't t-think you could use the Imperius curse." she replied, stepping back slowly.

"And that's exactly why I can't have you knowing so much of my secrets, Alyson. You don't think enough." I commented as I stepped toward her. "Or maybe you think too much, I'm not sure." I added as an afterthought.

"P-Please, I-I swear I won't tell anybody. Listen, you can obliviate me, I'll tell you where's my Pensieve!"

I thought about it for a second. _Finally, numerous solutions are available... but I like my first idea better._

"I was just kidding, sweetheart." I sheathed my wand and opened my arms before letting out a small laugh. She swallowed and laughed nervously, barely trusting me.

"So, you accept my demand?" she tried softly.

"I suggest even better. An unbreakable vow. You swear that you won't ever tell anyone about my secrets, on your life."

"And what will you swear?"

"Well... I guess I'll swear that I'll do my best to take you with me out of Britain when I've done what I have to do."

She glared at me.

"And protect you from the Dark Lord, should he try and follow you for some reason."

She acquiesced and we called the ancient magic to seal the deal with a few wand waves and old English sentences. It was disturbing to see how easily we had made the vow unbreakable, putting ourselves under the sword of magic, accepting to die if we ever broke the promise, without any possibility to go around it.

"So, now I guess I can get comfortable." I said, taking my jacket off and revealing the scar on my forearm. She gasped and looked at me.

"That... you really... I didn't actually think it was you!" she blurted out, grabbing my arm to inspect the scar.

"Yeah, well. It was." I grinned, feeling a bit proud. "How did you know about it? Daily Prophet?"

"My mother works at the Ministry, she told me things not everyone knows. The fact that your hand was cut off your arm among other things. What's the story?"

"I'm not going to tell you everything, Alyson. I'll tell you what's useful for you to know. From now on, you're working for me." _The next year will be quite busy, she could prove useful. _

I had decided it a few minutes ago. Alyson would be my second set of eyes, ears, legs and arms in the castle. I would have to set up the ritual inside Hogwarts to take advantage of the massive amount of ambient magic, and she would help me better than any Imperiused student could. With the vow she had taken, there was no possibility of a leak from her, it was safe.

"Work for you? What do you mean?"

"I'll explain it when I need you, for the moment, I need a shower and afterwards I want to shag you real bad." I grinned widely and approached her.

"What? Now?" she squeaked, her eyebrows raised. "I'm not really in the mood..."

"I'll put you in the mood, come on."

She smiled faintly and led me upstairs. I took a moment to think about the ramifications of that discussion. _If she, starting from nothing but suspicions about my involvement in Montague's death, deduced my numerous obliviations on my classmates and eventually guessed that much of my secrets, then how much could anybody else find? How much could Zach find if he actively began interviewing my housemates?_

_Well he doesn't have any true suspicions about me. He keeps ranting about me being dark and abnormal but he doesn't actually think I did anything so far... Only Ron seem to believe I was the one to attack them in the Forest, and he only does because he needs someone to blame for his injuries._

I shrugged mentally as I entered Alyson's private bathroom to take a shower. _I could fix the issue by Imperiusing my housemates and planting stories to tell in their mind, but that would take too much of my time and focus. _I wasn't willing to even think about the Loren case. I wouldn't ever cast an unforgivable or any kind of dark magic on her. _I'll let things be for the moment. I'll open the Portal of Horus in a few month and it'll be all over._

_Once I used the incredible magic source that is Hogwarts to fuel Natasha's rebirth, I'll just get away._

_And if Alyson becomes a problem in the process, I vowed to do my best to take her with me, once I've done what I need to do... who knows what can happen to her before that?_

* * *

"Well, I'm alright, aren't I?"

"That isn't the point, Mr. Potter! What if someone used you to get to your brother?" Auror Kingsley sighed and softened his tone.

"I understand it's a difficult situation but you must bear with it. No more outings, Harry. Promise me."

"Only if Zach and his dogs promise to never enter my room again. Not even get a glance into it."

"Oh yeah? So you can hide all sort of dark stuff right under our noses?" spat Ron fiercely.

"Ronald, stop being so thick!" scolded Hermione. "We promise, Harry." She smiled faintly.

"I don't know, Hermione. I kind of agree with Ron this time, I don't want him to hide stuff and bring Slytherins in his room." stated Zachary calmly, analyzing me carefully.

I had come back after a day at Alyson's place, I was clean and entirely fixed, except for the inhuman exhaustion that would probably be over in a week or two. My arm scar was concealed with a bit of makeup and my head wound had been mended by her House elf, surprisingly good with healing magic. I looked healthy again, if a bit tired.

"I'll bring whoever and whatever I damn please in my room, and you will stay out of my business."

"No, Mr. Potter, I'm afraid we can't let you bring whoever you please in the house. There is too much going on." Kinglsey spoke in a calm and serious voice, one that resounded of confidence and viability.

I sighed furiously and peered at the dark skinned auror.

"So what? Do I have a certain number of people I can get in or something?"

He shook his head. "Mr. Potter, the situation here is very tense, words spoken in this house cannot be heard by anyone. I will ask you to endure it until you return to Hogwarts." He patted me in the back and left the kitchen as I was trying to burn him with my eyes. I turned to the silent trio, Ron looked extremely smug and Zach looked pensive. Hermione had a blank expression.

_This guy technically has no authority on me, but there's no point in bringing that out. James will just agree and tell me the same thing._

"Stay away from me, all of you. Especially you, Weasley." I scrunched my nose in disgust and turned to the door.

As planned, he tried to jump on me with a mad roar but slipped and fell pathetically on the floor. I didn't hate the boy, but it was so easy to anger him, I couldn't resist. Malfoy had been teasing him all year long about his wounds, and the kid was constantly about to explode. And since he had triggered the trace on me a few days prior, his parents had confiscated his wand.

I chortled and walked away, to the library. _Might as well read if I'm stuck here for the summer._ However, I stopped in the living room. Kinglsey, McGonagall and my parents were having a chat with Moody MadEye and someone I thought knew from somewhere.

Pink hair and leather jacket, a very cute face and blue eyes. She was around twenty years old from what I could see but I couldn't quite remember where I had seen the witch. _I may be mistaking her for someone else, though._

"... Umbridge, probably, but we can't say for sure until the Minister declares it." concluded Kingsley, earning a few nods of acknowledgment. "In other news, we got a recent development in the Venezuela affair."

My ears perked at that and I silently took a seat.

"I trust you remember the details. We had the blood of the mysterious man but no match to it in the Ministry archives. Granted it doesn't mean much since pureblood family have the right to ask for deletion of their blood samples but yesterday, we found a match."

"Really?" exclaimed James, jumping out of his seat. My blood froze. _They can't have found me out. Kingsley would have apprehended me already._

"The French." answered Kingsley, making a dramatic pause and watching the reactions before explaining further. "The French have the same blood sample tied to one of their unresolved case. Tonks and Moody went this morning to find out exactly what's going on."

"Right," started the pretty witch excitedly. _Tonks, Priscillia's cousin, the metamorphmagus._ "So, long story short, they have even less than us about the man. All they have is that in May 1993, he went in the French Knockturn Alley and assaulted two undercover Aurors. He obliviated them and left them tied in the street. They got a few drops of blood from the ground, probably a harmless cut. Their theory is that the Aurors followed him after detecting a heavy disguise on him and he surprised them."

Kingsley nodded and turned to the others again.

"With the French Ministry working with us on the case, we tried a go at the goblins for a blood analysis. They did the analysis and destroyed the results immediately, they now refuse to help in any way."

"That mean it's either a very rich or a pureblood family. Or that the goblin have an arrangement with the man." said James, apparently thinking hard about the situation.

"If the goblin had an arrangement with the man, or with someone who hired the man, they wouldn't have even checked the sample before refusing."

"Or they did that on purpose, to make you think they didn't know who it is beforehand." replied James with a small grin.

Silence filled the room for a few moments before McGonagall broke it.

"Do we have any clue of why did You-Know-Who attack Lord Aleksandro?"

"We can only assume, Minerva. Severus said that he didn't have any information on it but we must wait for his last report. Alkesandro has been a good ally of You-Know-Who in the last war, something must have happened between them for him to send someone here. But as we discussed the other time, the most disturbing is the way it had been dealt with. A single wizard was sent, and he nearly got killed." began Kinglsey.

"The South American Wizard Covenant was monitoring the place and decided to launch a frontal attack when they saw the breach caused by the Death Eater. Security measure didn't work as planned and half of the mercenaries meant to be here weren't here, that is why they took advantage and attacked. Apparently, it quickly degenerated in a very violent war, and our man escaped the scene only by luck." continued James.

"So... the presumed Death Eater would have died if it weren't for the South American Covenant?" asked Tonks unbelievingly.

"Well, the Covenant told us he killed a Chimera and an unknown number of wizards and Mage Knights on his way out, but he didn't engage in the main battle and still got his arm cut off. He was probably good, but no match for the defense Aleksandro hired."

"You-Know-Who barely used Mage Knights and mercenaries in the last war, this isn't his style. Blasting into the warehouse of his best black market supplier and attracting attention to Britain with an intercontinental apparition through the redirection wards isn't what a Death Eater would do. This doesn't seem right at all." muttered Moody.

I decided to speak up, it would be perfect if Voldemort and his clique took the blame.

"Well, maybe it was a punishment."

Everyone turned their head to me, Kingsley looked surprised to see me here and Tonks beamed at my sight. We had fun last time I spoke to her, even if she laughed at my almost-subtle attempts to get her in the bed with Priscillia and me.

"Maybe one of his Death Eater fucked up badly and as a punishment he was sent to steal something from this Alex guy." I shrugged. "If he comes back with it, he's forgiven and all is well, and if he doesn't come back ..."

"That makes a small amount of sense, I like that thinking." exclaimed Moody, winking at me.

"We need Snape's feedback before thinking further. I don't remember You-Know-Who giving such punishment, especially when he has more than enough money to buy everything he would want stolen. But it isn't impossible, maybe Aleksandro refused to deal with him anymore for some reason." agreed Kingsley, standing up.

"Did the Covenant or the Auror interrogate this Aleksandro person?"

"He's been interrogated but if he knew something about You-Know-Who, he wouldn't say so. He may be outrageously rich and well protected, but he probably doesn't want You-Know-Who to try and visit him. No amount of mercenaries would protect him from that and he knows it."

Everybody nodded at that and stood up to shook each other hands before leaving by the front door, Tonks muttered something to Moody and trotted to me.

"Hey Harry, how was the crystal princess, then? Did you get any shards?" she laughed and slapped me on the shoulder. We had mocked Priscillia for her surname when I met Tonks a few day ago and crystal princess had become her nickname.

"Nah, she's one of these crystals that look sharp but are actually very smooth when you know where to rub them."

"Yes, she did say that you knew how to rub her the right way." she replied with a sly smile. "You know, she's quite smitten with you, Harry."  
"How do you see your relationship with her?" she added after a small pause.

I raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "It's just harmless sex between us, she was the one to like it better this way, actually."

Tonks frowned slightly. "I don't know exactly how you two ended up together but the way she talks about you, Harry... it's not just harmless fun for her." she said as she placed her hand on my arm. "She's my cousin and I'd hate it if you hurt her."

"Hey, like I said, she was the one who asked for that, and she knows very well she's not the only one in my life."

Tonks harrumphed at that and shook her head. "Still, I think you two should have a serious discussion. She talks about you like she's your girlfriend and at the same time you tell me you see other girls. I don't like that."

"She knows it, trust me. Now enough talked about my love life, what about yours?"

"I know she knows it, I just don't like it." She sighed and followed me into the library. "And you have no business knowing about my love life." she quipped and messed my hair affectionately.

"Mmh, so about that blood sample..." I started, swatting her hand away.

"What about it?"

"What are you gonna do? It's a good lead, no?"

She shook her head sadly.

"It could be one if the goblins weren't so stubborn. But the case is about to be closed anyway, the Ministry doesn't want to spend more resources on it. The man didn't break any law except for dropping a dead guy and breaking the wards, even the French don't really want to find who he is. I don't know about the South American Covenant but I think they have a lot more important things to deal with, so... yeah I think there won't be any follow up." she explained and sighed again. "Another case to the archives without a conclusion." she concluded with a shrug. "The Order won't give up so easily, though. The case is most likely linked to You-Know-Who and is very important."

"So what is the Order gonna do about it?"

"We'll see when Snape returns, for the time being we're in the dark."

I nodded and sat in a chair with a tome on advanced potion theories. Tonks sat beside me. "So... no running away, this time? Think you can survive a month in there?" she laughed and peered at my book.

"Seriously? This is bullshit, I can't stay here all summer. You know, I already ran away last year and went to live with my girlfriend for a month, that's how much I can't stand being locked here." I replied without opening the book.

Her eyes widened. "You left for a whole month? You were thirteen! What did your parents say?"

"I wouldn't know, I didn't see them again until Zach got Pettigrew, and they had pretty much forgotten about it."

She seemed quite astounded at that and stayed silent for a moment. I still didn't open the book, I didn't really want to read it after all. _Staring into her eyes is much more to my liking._

"Well, I don't know much about you or your family, but Zachary is a good kid, it's probably not that bad."

"It is, trust me. Do you know why I went away for a few days just now?"

"Well, yeah, he told us. But that shouldn't happen anymore since you can't invite girls in the house." she said in what was meant to be a reassuring tone.

"Oh great! Thank you! Not only I'm stuck here but I can't even bring my friends in!" I threw my hands in the air, making her chuckle.

"I heard you get along well with Ginny, that's better than nothing."

I raised my eyebrows at her.

"Oh no! I don't mean you should get her into your bed or anything, actually, please don't!" she laughed. "No, no, I meant as a friend you know, I could be your friend too." she added with a smile.

"That's very nice of you Tonks but to be honest I'd like it better if you didn't bother being my friend and skipped right to friend with benefits."

She sneered at me hauntingly and rolled her eyes.

"While I see why teenagers are all over you, I'm way out of your league, kiddy." she looked at her wristwatch and cursed. "I gotta go, see you Harry." she leaned and kissed me on the cheek. "Don't do anything stupid."

She left the library and tripped on the door threshold, lost her balance and crashed against something I couldn't see in the living room.

I snorted and tossed the book on the table. _I guess I'll sleep, I've got to rest a lot anyway._

* * *

I eyed the big red locomotive with no small amount of joy and exhaled loudly a breath that I had been keeping in for too long. _Deliverance. Finally._

I would be in Hogwarts in a few hours, free to kill whatever I'd want in the forest and free to shag whoever I'd want in the castle. I had been in a more than terrible mood for the rest of the summer since my official restriction. I had forced myself to let my wand in my trunk, to avoid cursing people by accident. My hands moved on their own, my thoughts raced on their own and I couldn't trust myself with a wand.

The pain from the dark magic shortage in my body had been constantly increasing until it became a constant headache and soreness. I didn't sleep well, the food I ate was stale and I wanted to hit everyone. However, after week of constant pain I started to get accommodated to it and almost ignore it, and understood how dark wizard lived without killing everything that moves. _It makes life hell, but with time you get used to anything._

_Not anymore. I'm back. _

Tonks had rejected every each one of my tries to get in her panties with that smile of hers that meant basically "you're cute but you have no chances", I had even tried to force her by pushing magic in my voice, but that had only earned me a kiss and a quick withdrawal from her.

The horrible hunger, the unbearable need I had experienced had ended up driving me to have sex with Ginny again, and of course the cat got out of the bag immediately after. Ron had been insanely mad, the twins wanted to beat me up and their mother shouted her lungs off at Ginny. She had been grounded for all summer and forbidden to see me ever again. The red head beast tried to scold me too but I quickly made her understand that I didn't give two shit about what she had to say, more or less brutally. James and Lily were outraged at my behavior and punished me too, not that it changed my situation anyhow.

If I had been anywhere near getting the Hermione girl in my bed before, it was definitely impossible after. She wouldn't even speak to me anymore, making all my work of being nice and throwing little smiles to her useless in the end.

_Well, vacation's over. Back to business._

I entered the train and looked for an empty compartment. I spotted someone with whom I had exchanged a few letters over the summer.

"Alyson." I spoke, still unable to smile without focusing on it because of the constant headache pounding in my skull and screaming for blood. _Scream for blood? Nah I just made that up._

"Harry!" she ran to me and stopped suddenly before walking more calmly.

"Sorry, I don't know how we're meant to act in the end. Boyfriend and girlfriend or not?"

I shook my head.

"As far as anyone knows, I bang you and I like to hang out with you. They can make their guesses from that, not that I care."

"Here he is, my dear brother. The one who defiled our innocent and _underage_ sister." snarled a voice I knew behind me.

_Fred and George._ "What do you two clowns want?" I asked offhandedly.

The punch surprised me, I hadn't pegged the Weasley twins for the violent type. It connected with my cheek and pushed my head to the side. _Meh, I've seen better._ Alyson squeaked and drew her wand.

"We'll make your life hell for what you did, asshole." started the one who had punched me.

"Don't forget we know a little secret of yours from a few years ago." said the other with a wink.

I rubbed my cheek and watched them in what I hoped was a bored look. I couldn't be sure with rage inside me, the anger tearing my mind apart, demanding me to curse them into oblivion.

"We all know you can't reveal that secret; Why are you so mad anyway? Ginny loved it." I grinned widely as the one in front of me grew redder and redder.

"She was fucking thirteen, you sick fuck!" he grabbed my collar and swung another punch. This time Alyson reacted and banished him before he could hit me. He was sent a few feet back in the corridor and crashed against the door between two wagons.

"Got your girlfriend to protect you, Potter?" snarled the second one, pointing his wand at Alyson.

"She's not my girlfriend anymore than Ginny." I grinned again and turned around, the twin glared at me but didn't try anything more. _They'll probably plan some prank on me._

I left the wagon with Alyson and found an empty compartment. We used the time to reach Hogwarts to ease my pain a little, locked in the compartment behind curtains and privacy charms. Thankfully, the ride went unperturbed, a few people had knocked on the door at some point but gave up when we didn't answer.

As I was getting out of the train, I spotted the twins glaring at me while muttering something with Lee and another boy. I turned to Alyson behind me.

"Alyson, you first assignment is to make sure the Weasley twins won't prank me." I whispered to her, getting closer. She nodded and her eyes jerked to the twins.

"Do I have carte blanche?" A smirk had found its way on her face as her eyes came back on me.

"Yes, do whatever you need to make sure they can't impede me and my plans. If it's just small harmless pranks it's alright, but don't let them harm or incapacitate me in any way."

"I'll watch them." she muttered back with determination.

I didn't trust her to be competent for anything, I knew she was an average witch and not particularly clever, but she had found out about me and that showed an unusual perceptiveness. My plan was to use her for my errands and to protect myself. I had some very complex and volatile potions to brew for the body re-creation ritual and she could help me brew them. She could go get the ingredients or she could monitor the cauldron when I wouldn't be able to do it myself, and at the same time she would be useful to block issues such as Zach or more recently the prankster twins.

My mind drifted to the ritual as we were getting closer to the castle, alone in our carriage. The three potions I needed to brew were for two of them very obscure potions that I had modified after a lot of thinking and the third one was a complete invention of my own. It was actually closer to Alchemy than Potion Brewing, as was the Phoenix tears and Dementor saliva distillation I had to perform. I would mix the few drops of Natasha's blood I had kept so dearly within the final product of the distillation and inject it in the Legendary Salamander beating heart, the main Runic anchor. I sighed. I'd have to design some sort of spell to make all of this work together, I couldn't just use my hands to manipulate the unpredictable liquid, not if I wanted to succeed. _Maybe Alyson would be able to take care of the spell, it's just physical motions to imitate to the millimeter, nothing fancy._

I knew I'd have to teach her how to brew correctly if I wanted her to monitor the cauldron, though. The potions would be incredibly difficult to brew, and even if I would take care of the most complicated aspects, even looking after it would require a keen mind. I had everything planned and ready, it was going to be a breeze. _Except for the banshee cloth..._ I thought darkly. I needed to imbue the cloth with the regenerative powers of the phoenix tears, but I had no idea of how to do that. I swatted the topic aside. _I'll find a way to do it eventually._

By the time I had finished thinking, we had reached the great hall and sat down. Many of my peers greeted me with various degrees of joy and the hat launched in a song I didn't listen to. The headmaster presented the new defense professor and finally sent the lot of us to bed.

Going to bed was only the beginning for me, I quickly took back my habits and left the dormitory around midnight for the Forbidden Forest. The first thing I did was to check my secret stash of illegal ingredients. The Legendary Salamander heart was still beating and the pouch containing three barrels of moondust was still a simple pouch. I let out a relieved sigh. I had feared one of those two would fail somehow and destroy my plans.

I spared a glance to my damaged armor and decided to try and fix it eventually, but not this night. No, this night I was going to have fun.

_There's a rather big nest of Acromentulas a few miles from here._ I grinned widely.

_I wonder how well spider web burns._

* * *

"Yes, that's what I heard."

I looked at Alyson and thought about it for a moment. _If they pull this one off, they might be happy with it and call it a day..._

"Okay then, let them do it. A babbling potion is nothing I can't handle. I'll just look like an idiot for a few hours and hopefully they'll stop there." I shrugged. The Weasley twins could quickly become a pain in the arse if I didn't defuse the situation immediately.

"Now Alyson, I wanted to ask, how good are you at Charm Theory and Arithmancy?"

She looked surprised at the question and dropped her 'good soldier' mask for a moment in favor of a hesitant face.

"Well... I have notions, why?"

"I'd need you to create a spell to manipulate a small amount of liquid very accurately in a certain fashion. Do you think you can handle that?" I asked as we entered the great hall. It was nothing unusual to see Harry Potter with a Slytherin girl for most of the students. I had earned the reputation of hanging out with everything with a vagina since last year and nobody cared anymore.

"I don't know, I could try but I can't promise anything." she eventually answered.

"You have a month to try."

The planet alignment and meeting with Zephyros and Victor was planned for January. I had about four month to make sure everything was ready.

The ritual for the Portal of Horus had been finally completed during summer, when I had put all of my mind into it along with Gregory. It was all set up and ready to roll. Zephyros and Victor knew what they had to do and I would take care of supervising the placement of the anchors and casting the incantation. When I would depart for Norway, where the Portal would be opened, the body creation ritual had to be ready too. Souls were very volatile outside of a container, and I wasn't about to risk Natasha's soul in a temporary container. No, I would inject her soul in her body immediately after getting it. _Half an hour at most, that is what I have between the two rituals._

"A month to try what?" asked a cheerful voice to my right. Priscillia came from my blind spot somehow and threw herself on me for a tight hug. "Been avoiding me, Mr. Potter? It's been weeks already and you barely spoke to me!" she pouted before leaning in for a kiss that I returned gladly. It was always good to kiss witches, that was a constant.

"You know, Tonks told me to have a discussion with you, Priss."

"About what?" she asked curiously as I waved goodbye to Alyson.

"About me and girls. She doesn't like that I'm not yours and yours only."

We sat down and started to eat with our housemates.

"But you are mine." she answered with a sly smile and a lusty look in her eyes.

"For the next hour, I am." I smiled too. "But you know what I mean."

"Yes, yes, she has a rather... peculiar opinion of you since you tried to get her to have a threesome with us." she replied offhandedly, waving her hand to close the topic. People around her raised their eyebrows at the mention of a threesome and looked at me.

"A damn shame she has such a high opinion of herself, it would have been really fun. With her metamorphmagus skills I mean." More raised eyebrows. Smith was closely listening now.

"Are you guys setting up an orgy with a metamorphmagus?" he joked, his eyes betraying him.

"No, Smith, get back to your plate." rebuked Priscillia with a smile before looking up and behind me.

"Mr. Potter, Aurors would like to see you." declared a firm voice behind me. Deputy Headmistress McGonagall had come to the Hufflepuff table to fetch me. My heart sank.

_Shit. What do I do._ I had literally no chance of fleeing right now in the great hall, Dumbledore was here and I doubted I could outplay McGonagall in the first place. Conversations had died around me and everybody was looking at me. I stood up, a small smile plastered on my expressionless face. I shot a glance at the great doors and saw a bunch of Aurors in official robes waiting for me. I had planned to try and escape McGonagall once in the corridor. _God damn it! What do I do? What could they have on me? _I forced my mind to give me answers, my Occlumency practice had left me with very well ordered memories, and I couldn't find a reason to have Aurors here.

_It could be anything, really. _Then it hit me. _The blood they were talking about. They must have traced it back to me. _Instinctively, my hand shot to my left forearm, where the revealing scar was waiting to send me to Azkaban. _They didn't see me kill the guy, though. Being underage, I might not get sent to prison._ I tried to reason before letting out a small chuckle that stopped my thoughts. _No, it's the end. But it's not over until I'm dead._

"Mr. Potter, follow me." said McGonagall in the same harsh tone, her eyes following me closely.

I nodded and followed out of the great hall. Three Aurors and Kingsley Shacklebolt greeted me with a curt nod and escorted me outside of the castle in the west courtyard, McGonagall reluctantly let me with them and walked back to the castle.

"Hello, Harry."

"Auror Shacklebolt, gentlemen. What can I do for you?" I asked wearily, trying to ignore my panic and to consider my words carefully. _I can surprise them with my strength and create a thick smoke fog to escape._ _They would probably know how to vanish it quickly, they're Aurors, for Merlin's sake!_

"I have a few questions for you, Harry, and I'd appreciate it if you answered truthfully." he started, a fake smile on his hard features. I saw through the mask though, he didn't have any remain of trust for me. _They have something on me._

"Where were you on the 21th of July, 1992?" he asked suddenly, his voice hard. The other Aurors watched me closely and the only female one had opened a notebook and was ready to write my answer.

I pretended to think about it. _Summer 1992, the Zabini affair. _I recalled. _There is no way it's something else._

"Well, I guess I was at home or at some friend's place." I answered easily and shrugged. "What's this about?"

"And who would be that friend?" asked a young Auror on Kingsley's left.

"I don't know, Trix Eveleen or Alyson Justice I guess." I invented. _If they ask Alyson, she'll play along._ "Or maybe Loren, I don't know." I decided to throw in for the effect.

"Harry, I'll be honest. The Zabini House has lodged a complaint against you and accuses you of the following acts." he declared in an official voice an motioned for the girl with the notebook to speak.

"Illegal Obliviation, thief of invaluable magical heirloom, use of level five dark magic on a pureblood house member and refusal to pay the entrance fee for the Zabini Museum." she read from her bulletin.

I played the flabbergasted act and gaped at her.

"I.. I what? They did what? Why did I what?" I blurted out, looking left and right between the Aurors.

"It appears that young Blaise Zabini had been obliviated and after years of investigation by Albert Zabini, they hired a team of obliviation masters and retrieved part of the memory."

"And I'm concerned why?"

"The memory accuses you, Mr. Potter. But I don't think a twelve years old could have done this." he said, his eyes warming up slightly. "We are not sure of what is Mr. Zabini's game, but it may be related to your brother and the rumors about You-Know-Who."

"Captain Shacklebolt!" gasped one the Aurors. Kingsley ignored him.

"The simplest way to resolve this affair would be to suggest veritaserum, Harry."

_I know there are ways around veritaserum when the questions are about a particular case. I could ask Alyson to erase my memories and store them in her Pensieve to get them back later._ But I knew the Ministry would ask all kind of dangerous questions to avoid that. "Do you have memory of the 21th of July 1992" for example would be a total tell-tale. Having no memory of a particular day doesn't exist, even if that day was the most boring of your life, your brain has at least memory of having lived it.

"I'd accept veritaserum under one condition. I want to be asked only one question, and I want to know the question before hand." I explained strongly. "It's easy, 'did you obliviate Zabini or ask anyone to obliviate him?' should be plenty enough."

They looked at each other.

"The Zabini won't stop their pursuit with that, Harry. They have some sort of plan, obviously. Why don't you agree to a thorough examination under veritaserum?"

"I had a nasty experience with it and do not wish to live it again." I retorted. "As a House of Potter member, I am allowed to refuse it and I will."

"Very well. We will check your alibi for that day and question your family. The investigation of Mr. Zabini's memories and other details are already in motion." he squinted at me and nodded to his companions.

"You will get a notice if the Auror corporation finds you guilty. Good day Mr. Potter." With that, he left the courtyard and let me alone with my thoughts.

Creating fake memories was a feat I couldn't perform, and it would take me months of intensive practice and study to get right. _It will take a few months for the Aurors to confirm the truthiness of the memory_. _Hopefully, I'll be done by then._

I walked back to the castle, trying to think of the consequences of that episode. Zach was going to freak out knowing that I know the Obliviation curse and was efficient with it since first year, I had no doubt. I could tell to everyone that I was innocent, but Zach was going to freak out anyway.

_Oh well._

* * *

**_an: Getting closer and closer to the end. I hope you guys still enjoy it, thank you for reading and reviewing._**


	17. Chapter 17

**.**

**Too Young to Die.**

**.**

**Chapter 17.**

**.**

* * *

I dropped the smoked slice of toad tongue in the silver cauldron and carefully poked it with the ceremonial sharp stick. Bubbles escaped the piece of meat as it drowned into the amazingly bright potion and I diminished the heat by five degree Celsius. I stepped back and dropped on a chair. This potion was almost half done, and in a week, it would be done. Satisfied with the thought, I opened my tome on imbuement and continued the interesting read.

_If I find the numerological equivalent of banshee cloth, it should be easy enough to set up the imbuement ritual. _I finally concluded as someone knocked on the door.

"Vagina shampoo." muttered an annoyed voice from behind the magically enhanced wooden panel.

I cracked a chuckle and waved it open. "That password only gets funnier." I mused out loud.

Alyson shook her head and rolled her eyes as she set foot in my self-proclaimed personal, and utterly illegal, potion laboratory.

"One would think you'd take things a bit more seriously considering the ... situation you're in. The lone discussion topic in the school right now is the Zabini affair, a.k.a whether Harry Potter a dark wizard or not..." she admonished, her focus being drawn to the faintly buzzing cauldron like a moth to a flame.

"What is this potion for anyway?" she asked, curiously interested in the concoction. It was the fumes, I assumed, the stuff this potion contained was mindblowing, and any wizard would feel it by inhaling the fumes.

"It has the very dramatic name of... yes it would translate to 'sacrificial righteousness'. I won't tell you what it does, mainly because you simply wouldn't understand it." I explained proudly, walking around the shining cauldron to face her in an increasingly dramatic way. "It is but one of the first step toward my great purpose. The other first step is what I called you here for." I slapped my hands on the brim, startling her out of her fascination.

It was time to start setting up the ritual, while I still could move relatively freely in the castle.

I took my wand out and disillusioned both of us perfectly without a word.

"Don't talk until I tell you to. Of course you understand we're meant to not be seen."

She nodded, I took her hand and pulled her out of the room, not forgetting to lock it with a charm so obscure and overly complex that even goblins would have to force it open with explosives to get inside.

We moved in silence through the castle, I intentionally led her in unused corridors, taking longer detours to avoid the masses. We reached our destination after nearly an hour of trekking in the depth of the castle. The rock had become damp and moist at places, light didn't reach it since long, spider webs were thick as cloth and only the most annoying paintings were exiled in such a place. All the room were unused around these parts, and I had set my eyes on a particularly large and ancient auditorium to set up my ritual in.

I opened the door and entered the sanctuary, the center piece of my life, and as far as I was concerned, the entire world. In this room, the fate of everything was to be sealed. It was of old design, the rows were made of big stones and the sheer size of the room made necessary four thick round stone pillars to hold the ceiling, complete with semi-archs and everything. A cathedral of a sort.

I breathed the stale air with delight, my arms open, and turned to my guest.  
"You can talk." I smiled to the invisible witch before waltzing to the middle of the auditorium, in between the two front pillars, facing the three hundred or so rows of seats and desks.

"Sacrificial righteousness?" she asked out of the blue. "I have no delusion about your plans, Potter, I know you're plotting something nasty, but please don't tell me we're going to make, out of all the thing I really don't want to be doing, human sacrifices... in that remote and if I may, fucking spooky place."

I laughed happily, my laugh reverberating in the stone room and echoing loudly. My time at Hogwarts so far had been splendid. I hadn't much free time around my studies and brewing, not to mention the last minute worries from my Horus partners and the constant harassment from Zachary's friends, but the few free time I could find was used to its full extent, I had killed and shagged twice as much as I thought possible for someone under such pressure. Of course, it was a way to release pressure, but in a way, it also added to it.

"Don't worry, sweetheart, you won't have to kill anybody." I grinned and cancelled the disillusionment charms, tracking my wand down her lovely chin and making her shiver at the contact of unraveling magic._ Or maybe it's just me that makes her shiver. She does look scared, sometimes..._ I chuckled at the thought and squatted down before emptying my pockets on the irregular old stones.

The Legendary Salamander beating heart was in its pot and still beating. The endless pouch was still holding three barrels worth of moondust and the less volatile ingredients I had already brought in the room beforehand. It was unfortunately impossible to set everything up at the same time and starting early was the logical answer. So we would start, and slowly work our way to the D day, cautiousness was paramount in this step, we had time and we would use it wisely, even though the risk of getting caught increases rather exponentially from the day we start and onward.

"What about that liquid-handling spell you were working on? Did you finish it?"

She shook her head.

"I got the base of it alright, but it still isn't a hundred percent accurate. Give me one more week and it'll be to the millimeter. I just need to find out why it wiggles on its own instead of flowing neatly."

"Alright, one more week. I can manage."I replied offhandedly, this particular piece of magic could wait until the very end in all truth. What we were doing here had to start a bit earlier. A lot earlier, if I had my way with it. _And since when don't I have my way with anything?_

"Say, what do you know about rituals?" I asked after inwardly reviewing my plans for the next weeks. It had become an habit to forget things, lately - or maybe a lot longer than just lately. Just like a kid with too many toys, my mind was scattered. _But only one toy really matters._

She raised an eyebrow.

"Rituals? Nothing." she squinted at me. "But I hope to Merlin you're not planning to make one involving sacrifices." she added after a pause.

"I happen to be a master in the field of rituals, and this place is perfect to set up one." I cast my gaze around. "The old and dusty rock, the ambient moist, the inherent quiet of this abandoned room, all of these factors make it more than suitable for the revolutionary, certainly, but still ancient arcane magic we're going to perform here... the pillars too..." I explained to her, being cryptic without realizing it. At this point, I was talking to myself. _Yes, those pillars... it's like they were made to have human sacrifices pinned onto them._

I shook my head and unfolded the large parchment covered in geometrics and runes that I had been feverishly working on for months now, a final compilation of all my research, the fruit of my hard labour.

"Anyway, I digress... Come here and take a look at this. This is the blueprint of the ritual." she obeyed, setting herself against me to watch the amazing document. "Your only work in this place is to reproduce this drawing onto the floor with chalk." I pointed to four small circles set up in a square pattern. "Those are the pillars right here. Make sure everything fits exactly, if it doesn't, you erase it and start again. If you have doubt on what rune some of those are, you ask me, but it should be easy enough to just read it." she opened her eyes wide. "Maybe not the Maori runes, those are quite obscure. Anyway,"

I dropped four more parchment rolls onto the teacher's desk and opened them with a wave of wand.

"Of course, it's a multi-layer ritual. Five layers, to be exact." I handed her a box of multicolor chalks. "One color for each layer, please, and begin." I finished, my mind already starting on my own work for today.

"Harry... there are like a hundred runes on this parchment, and I've never seen any like those... that'll take days, even more." she started, amazed, talking to my back as I started to set up my workstation.

"Nah, it'll probably take you about two weeks, since you're gonna mess up a lot."

"What in the name of sweet love are you plotting, Harry?" she murmured, her eyes madly drifting across the parchment sheets, trying to find a meaning in the answer before her.

I waved her away.

"Psh, start your work now, we've got only a couple hours and I have to start imbuing that banshee cloth with those phoenix tears." I leaned onto the desk and started to analyze the weaving of the banshee cloth with the magnifying tool. I glanced one last time to the phials of phoenix tears before diving into my work. _I have enough to fail once. Only once. Well, I seem to be pretty good at first times so here goes._

We worked in silence for two hours, only interrupted a few times by Alyson who couldn't quite make the principal circle round enough, but in the end, she had it right. My imbuement went awry toward the end, I miscalculated the Phoenix tear's chaos potential and it resulted in the Banshee cloth to unravel the whole work and burn violently. _Next try will have to work._

"So you're not gonna tell me exactly what we're doing in here?" pouted Alyson on our way back, ignoring my orders of not talking. "I'm the one drawing that thing, I'm involved just as much as you so come on."

"I can tell you it shouldn't put anyone in danger, if that bothers you. Now shut up." I spat, still slightly mad from my failed attempt at 'from-scratch' imbuement.

She didn't catch the _shouldn't_ and stayed silent for about half a minute.

"Did you hear about your brother and that club of his?"

I stopped in my tracks.

"Do tell."

"Well I don't know much of it, but from what I heard, he's been putting some kind of battle squad together and train within the castle, in some secret room."

I was surprised to hear that. I knew James had been preparing him for the incoming war for a while now, and I was sure Hermione and Ron would get some training at some point too, but a battle squad?

"What do you mean, a battle squad?"

"I'm not too sure, but around two dozen people, possibly more. Do you think he'll send them after us?"

"Mmh... That I can't say for sure, but the Zabini affair quite rekindled his interest in me. On the other hand, he's got You-Know-Who to deal with, too, and that's a bit more of a threat, surely."

"Oh, while I'm at it, I'm pretty sure the twins will slip their long-awaited babbling potion in your drink tomorrow, I saw them looking at you intently lately, they must have finished the brew."

I nodded.

"Did you brew the antidote?"

"Yes, sir." she exclaimed proudly, mimicking the Auror's salute. She was an amazing girl, all in all.

I looked at the time. Curfew was in less than ten minutes, no time to grab some food at the kitchen.

"Good, disband."

* * *

As expected, the babbling potion found its way into my cup the day after Alyson had warned me. I played their game for an hour, babbling my thoughts about everything mixed in an incomprehensible flow of mingled words, hoping they would be happy enough with that victory.

Thankfully, most of my surface thoughts were inane, I had known this before accepting to get poisoned with a babbling potion of course, I was confident I would mostly blab about sex and cursing people. The latter could have been a problem, but nobody really takes someone under a blabbing curse seriously, it was fairly easy to control what was being said.

I spotted Alyson in the courtyard and walked to her, still followed by the small troop of people laughing at my predicament.

"Hey Harry." she greeted me with a smile, eyeing the laughing Gryffindors behind me with distrust.

"Alysoniwanttofuckyourealhardandeatsomefruitsafter wards." I blurted out in a breath."Maybewecouldkillacoupletwinswhenweredone." I spat, being entirely serious.

She snorted, the group of Gryffindor was howling with laughter, the twins leading the orchestra. She rummaged into her bag and handed me the antidote phial with a coy smile.

"Why, that sounds like a wonderful plan, Mr. Potter, I'm afraid we'll have to skip the fruits, though, we have class soon."

I swallowed the antidote in a single shot and felt it work immediately.

"Lucky your girl is here to watch your back, by the way, you owe her a hundred galleons at least for that antidote." grinned the first twin.

"This was only a preview of what we've got in store for you." smiled the other, trying to sound mysterious and threatening.

I nodded a thank at Alyson and turned to the twins, sighing and trying to appear slightly beaten. Which was harder than I had thought.

"You won, Weasley, you got me good. Because of you, a few girls will think twice before talking to me again. That 'war' is over."

They peered at each other for a two seconds long meeting and, apparently agreeing, snorted together.

"Says you. It's not over until we say it's over."

"And you deserve far worse than a babbling potion for what you did."

On that, they turned around in synch and walked away, letting the group disperse on its own.

Alyson waited for everyone to be gone and sighed, shaking her head faintly, her arms crossed.

"They will regret that."

I nodded.

"Yeah, they will. Anyway, we've got a bit less than half an hour before class, and I know a fairly well hidden closet not far." I grinned and grabbed her by the waist.

"I'm all yours, Sir Potter." she giggled playfully.

We got to class a few minutes late and took our seats in Snape's class after getting scolded by the angry bat and, in my case, losing a good twenty house points.

"I realize the twins are going to be a pain in the ass." I muttered to her at some point while cutting turtle scale in small squares. "You're gonna take care of them." I said, throwing the pieces in the cauldron. "Find a weakness, something heavy, and report to me before taking action."

She nodded and handed me a tomato. "Do we continue our work tonight?"

"No, I'll do some brewing on my own tonight." _And a little expedition in the forest... I've got a vendetta to settle against this damned bloodthirsty tree._ I smiled at the prospect of spending the night fighting and killing living beings. "Why did you give me a tomato?"

"Alright then, but I still have to finish that spell of yours. It's an ingredient, take out the seeds and put them in."

"Okay, finish the spell and then take care of them, but don't wait too long. I'm afraid they could actually become dangerous if we don't do something." _I still can't tell how they slipped the potion in my drink and disguised it so skillfully._ It had indeed tasted like pumpkin juice, even if I knew it was a babbling potion. _It was more than some Potion trick, probably Transfiguration. They're good. _"I'm not putting a tomato in a StoneNail potion, Snape probably thought some idiots would fall for it."

We left Potion an hour later with an E for "it was the best and a perfect potion but there's no way I'm giving you an O", which is the best grade one can get from Snape and went to our respective tasks. I would skip History of Magic to begin to brew the potion that would be fed to the sacrifices after the 'sacrificial righteousness', the 'regret and penitence'. _Can it get any more dramatic? I wonder if all Russian potion masters name their brew like so._

I had disillusioned myself and was climbing the stairs leading to my personal laboratory when I spotted a group led by the Beacon of Light, Zachary himself, walking in the other direction. It took me a bit of thinking to realize why it seemed strange to me; Gryffindor had History with us Hufflepuff, and as far as I knew, they weren't the kind to skip classes, so they had no business walking to the north when the classroom was in the south. I took a few steps down and peered closer into the group. Along with my dear brother, there were Hermione, Ron, Andra, Jay and two other I didn't recognize. Jay was a Hufflepuff a year above me and Andra was a Gryffindor I had flirted with at some point, but never bedded. _Even a Hufflepuff, huh?_ There was definitely something happening, I thought, remembering this battle squad thing Alyson had mentioned the day before.

I followed them for a few minutes before I understood where they were going and why they were so slow and cautious about it. On the other end of the corridor was Alyson, alone, looking for an adequate empty classroom to practice that spell she was creating. They were stalking her from a good distance.

"Alright, we're alone." started Zachary suddenly, watching behind the group and straight through me. "Listen, I know you don't like it, but we need to do this. We need to try something now, we can't sit by any longer."

The bushy haired girl took a step out of the ranks toward him and placed her hand on her shoulder. "Zach, I'm going with you only because you asked me to, but I think it's a bad idea. There must be a better way."

"She's the key to Harry, Hermione, I know it. She's been around him a lot more than anyone else lately, and she's got those secret hiding eyes, she knows what's up with him, trust me." exposed Zachary confidently, giving his troopers the conviction they needed.

_Dad taught him well. It's a wonder he didn't notice all the obliviating I did already._ I had stopped obliviating my housemates after Alyson showed me the flaw it had become, but their memories were still completely messed up, and my biggest fear was that someone else would look into it. Aurors, Dumbledore, or Zachary, who would be the first? I didn't want to find out.

"Ok, let's go." he said, starting to trot toward Alyson. "Andra, Paul, Jay and me will stun her. Hermione and Vincent you get ready in case she manages to shield and counterattacks somehow and Ron, you watch our backs. Like I taught you, half a second between each stunner."

They started running toward Alyson. Anger rose in me._ What the fuck do they even plan to do with her? Veritaserum? _I glanced at Granger. _She could brew it, I'm sure. _

"Well too fucking bad for you but you truly pissed me off." I whispered in-between my teeth as I dropped my disillusionment charm. Ron, left behind, heard me and turned suddenly, almost tripping over his crutch.

In a blink, I stunned him silently and ran behind them without a sound, my steps much lighter than theirs. They reached Alyson in a few seconds, she noticed them, took her wand out, her eyebrows raised higher than ever, and then noticed me a few seconds behind them, her eyebrows raised even higher.

"Wha-" she started.

"Stupefy!" shouted Zachary as an answer. She raised a shield but Zachary's minions were trained pretty well, they sent two more stunners separated by a second at most, flashing bright red in the corridor. Her shield yielded brutally, she let out a painful whine as the magic backlash threw her against the wall, the shield dispersing in a hundred blue fireflies. _That was really hot_. I thought, mentally replaying the scene of Alyson moaning as she was thrown back to wall, not surprised in the least that I'd mix sex and fight to the death. I had stopped being surprised long ago.

The small delay in-between each attack gave time for the other squad members to start casting again without any interruption in the flow of spells, and so, the next spell came almost immediately. Alyson magnificently dodged it by rolling on the wall to her left, the strong spell impacted the stone and exploded harmlessly in a blinding shockwave of red power and a loud bang that shook the stones themselves.

She turned her head back to them, having thrown it to the side before to protect her eyes and ears, panic and anger equally strong on her traits, her hair completely messy. She wouldn't have time to do anything else, she knew it. Defense and attack were both denied by the strategy of the opponents. It was an execution.

I got behind them, silently stunned Granger with a stunner that illuminated the entire corridor and swiftly kicked Zachary in the back of the knee, right above the calf. The bone didn't break, but something internal got torn or bruised. He whined in pain and dropped to his knee, breaking the chain of stunners they had started. His three friends turned to me as the realized something was not right. Alyson didn't skip a heartbeat, she immediately counterattacked with a stunner as well, and in a matter of two seconds, we were only three standing.

I kicked Zachary's wand out of his grip, this time wrecking the bones properly before he could cast anything and I backhanded the last soldier standing, Andra, in the face, sending her sprawling onto the stone floor until she hit the wall. She had been confused too much to react in the short time window given to her.

I breathed loudly and looked at Alyson. She was breathing louder than me, her whole system awakened by andrenaline, fear, anger and perhaps more.

"You okay sweetheart?"

She passed her hand through her hair and nodded, calming down. "I'm okay."

I turned my attention to the third conscious person in the corridor with no small amount of anger. I grabbed Zachary by the collar and tossed him against the wall, with a bit more strength than planned. He slumped on the floor, still conscious, but unable to breath for a while, his face on the cold stone, bleeding slightly and coughing.

"Alyson, he's all yours." Alyson nodded and neatly kicked Zachary in the nuts, or somewhere in this general area, being pretty fucking mad herself. Slytherins in general were very touchy on assault on their person.

I turned to Andra, who was bleeding at the mouth and forehead and slowly getting up, surprising me greatly as I was persuaded only Zach was still conscious. I took two step to her, she let out a whine and cried a tear or two, looking for her wand. It had rolled far away in her flight to the wall.

"Calm down, I won't hurt you." I said, stopping a few meters from her. She was back against the wall and I wouldn't be surprised if she pissed herself a bit. They may have trained in a room with Zach but when you actually come to trade spells and blows, it's a whole different story. Still angry, I knew better than to manhandle her right now.

"Andra, I know you and you know me, so I will ask nicely, what the fuck is wrong with you? Why would you attack Alyson out of the blue like that?"

She stared back at me, her lips trembling but firmly closed. _I know exactly why, but if I can play the victim, maybe he'll lose a few of his followers. Starting with Andra._

"Is it some kind of jealousy? Is he jealous of me because Alyson's my girl? What's the deal?" I asked with a perfect mask of incomprehension, walking back and forth before her as if asking the questions to myself.

"Harry, what do I do with your brother?" Alyson was holding him at wand point and occasionally slapping him in the face to keep him in check - or most likely vent out her fury.

"I don't know, he attacked you, not me. I just want to find out what's up." I shrugged and turned to Andra. "Won't you help me understand, Andra? I know my brother won't tell me anything."

"I...I don't know!" she blurted out, her voice dangerously close to one of a nervous breakdown. "He told us you were dangerous ... a-and this girl too! I mean if _he_ lies, who can we trust?" she sobbed, trying to contain it.

I sighed and looked at her sadly.

"It's alright, I won't do anything, I'm not the psychopath my brother seems to portray. Alyson, I suppose we should avoid walking alone from now on." I turned to Alyson. She had Zachary lying face down on the ground, her foot on his cheek and her wand straight to him. She seemed to have completely calmed down. She nodded.

"Yes, it seems that the Gryffindor's hate for everything that isn't Gryffindor has reached a new level."

With that, she viciously kicked Zack right in the face with a leftover bout of hatred and walked to me with a haughty look, her hips swaying nicely, unconsciously acting the femme fatale archetype. The whole picture had been amazing, and I knew I would never forget it.

"Next time you attack my girlfriend for no reason, I'll tell a prefect, Zach. Same for you Andra, and same for anyone else. You guys can't just go around attacking people like that."

I took Alyson by the shoulder and left the scene.

"Harry!" shouted Zach from behind me, his breath coming back through his bloody mouth and his wand in his hand again. He looked pretty terrible, his face not exactly broken but covered in red marks and bruises.

"This is it, Harry. This is your last chance." he spat a mouthful of blood along with a tooth. This last kick of Alyson had really been vicious. "If you don't come clean to me right now right here... I'll consider you an enemy! Same grade as a death eater!" he shouted, his voice echoing in the corridor in a desperate attempt to reach me.

Andra stood still, standing where I had left her, too afraid to get her wand back just yet and watching the exchange with red and puffy eyes.  
"Z-Zachary..." she tried softly.

"Shut up, Andra, don't let yourself be fooled! He's either with us or against us!" he barked, sounding more and more like a madman.

I snorted. "What does that even mean? You're going to assault me and my friends everytime you get the opportunity?"

There was a pause. He stared at me intently.  
"That means you'll become an enemy of the Order." he growled in a low tone.

I laughed out loud. "Ridiculous. Don't come near me or Alyson ever again."

And with this, I escorted Alyson away. We reached the staircase and sat on the stairs to drink some juice Alyson had in her bag.

"They won't try anything before some time now, so let's keep our schedule as planned." I wouldn't allow this stupid brother of mine to hinder my plans even in the smallest.

Alyson nodded and grabbed my hand slowly, surprising me slightly.

"Thank you for... well, saving me." she tried awkwardly. "So we're official dating now?"

I looked at her weirdly. "Why do you ask that?"

"You called me your girlfriend, back there." she smiled, apparently happy with that.

I chuckled a bit. How could she care about such trivial detail, compared the greatness of my schemes and the danger we were putting ourselves into, was well beyond my scope.

"That doesn't matter. Do your spell work, find something on the twins, and see you tomorrow." I clapped my hands and stood up, she followed and soon we disbanded to get to our own respective plans.

I wasn't overly concerned with Zachary's rambling, he had been after me for _years_ now, and he had done about everything he could to put his nose in my business.

_He was bluffing, he doesn't have anything left. The Order won't listen to him, just like they never listened to Ron's accusations about me._

* * *

It took my perceptive and sexy associate only three days to learn something useful about the Weasley twins. I motioned her to come sit next to me at the Hufflepuff table as she was entering the great hall to find some calories to ingest and later on burn with me in a way or another.

As discreet as ever, she slipped between tables and sat beside me. "Hey. Why do you make me sit here?" she greeted, eyeing around us carefully.

"I've got a few stalkers on my back since the other day, he probably asked some of his soldiers to monitor me. They won't hear us here."

She looked around and subtly pointed at Louise with her chin and eyes. "What about her?" she muttered, leaning in my ear and intoxicating me with her sour-sweet perfume.

"Under Imperius, she's safe." I shrugged. "Now let's talk business."

She only stared at Louise for a few seconds before turning back to me, still dangerously close and inviting.

"You've gotta be more careful, Harry, don't just go doing _that_ kind of things to your housemates!" she hissed, making sure that nobody could hear her.

I swatted her comment and looked at her expectantly.

She harrumphed slightly and leaned even closer, her lips almost touching my ear. "Alright, the twins. I don't know exactly what they're planning, but it came to my knowledge that they have a _huge_ stock of fireworks in their dormitory. I got it from a reliable source. I think we could use it."

Only when her warm breath left my ear I could start thinking about the words that she had slipped in. _We could tell on them and get them a few detentions or maybe even a suspension... or we could do worse. Much worse. Those two are part of both Zach's squad and the Order, and they have a personal vendetta against me. It would definitely be a good thing to get rid of them for good._

I nodded, this was almost too perfect.

"You take care of them, take this." I took a piece of parchment out of my bag and scribbled some quick notes for a golem ritual I knew very well. _A small stone bug, packed with explosives and answering to the thought, easy enough._ I put down a few runes and a list of ingredients, followed by a crude blueprint of the geometrics.

She took the parchment off my hand when I handed it and looked at me hesitantly.

"It's an easy enough one, it makes a little bug of stone that you will be able to control." I explained. There was no way to choose what animal you'd spawn, but there were ways to define at least what size and kind of animal it would be. "I'll give you the blasting concoction, I have some in stock, I believe."

"Isn't it a bit... dangerous? I mean, to detonate an unknown amount of unknown fireworks in a dormitory full of students?" she whispered, folding the parchment and slipping it in her pocket discreetly.

"Told you they would regret it. Now, you're gonna plan the explosion for tonight, so we both have solid alibis by hanging around in our respective common room. If you can't act normal while controlling the construct, just pretend you're in the showers or something, but make sure people see you." she nodded knowingly. "We'll start working in the sanctuary again tomorrow. Watch out for stalkers, visible or not. Zachary has an invisibility cloak."

"Then how can I know if I'm followed?"

"Spells, hearing, odour, use everything you can to find out before doing anything risky. And don't even think about going to the sanctuary before coming to me first."

With this out of the way, we spent the remaining of the lunch doing small talk, flirting like we were normal teenagers and discussing the spell she had finally created, and went to our classes.

I took a few breaks to take care of my long term brews and had a quick discussion with Gregory about the alignment of the planets and the effects it would have on our ingredients - topic we had already broached dozens of times of course, but he was getting more nervous with each day passing. He knew his Lord Victor would behead him on the spot if things didn't work out as planned.

I boosted an old blasting potion with a small amount of stabilized moondust from my humongous stock and dropped it into my partner's pocket as we crossed path in-between two classes. I lacked experience with blasting potions and I wanted to be sure the blast would be enough to ignite their whole stock, even in the small amount it would be delivered.

I was in the Hufflepuff common room when it came, playing a game of exploding snap for the first time in a long time, which ironically should seem a lot more suspicious than me not being here at all, but what the hell, I needed an alibi.

"Remember, Harry, Marco called the explosion on you." reminded Susan, seeing that I was going for the second dock. _What kind of mad rules take in account two docks but don't separate the flows, even though there are two flows..._

I shrugged and grabbed the card. I was pretty sure the explosion wouldn't be so soon, nobody had touched that dock for more than a turn now, and I was the only one going with the second flow in this round, as far as I knew.

The card burst in flames in my hand and the whole castle trembled. A terrible sound echoed in the corridor behind the door, the tables trembled, glasses tinkled and everything calmed down as fast as it came.

"Merlin's bowels! What the hell was that?" spat Susan incredulously, staring at the burnt card in my ash-covered hand.

"That wasn't the exploding snap! That was elsewhere in the castle!" exclaimed someone, trotting to the door as students began standing up everywhere.

The room suddenly exploded in voices and movements, girls were terrified and boys acted like they had the situation in hand, moving toward the door and asking for calm more to themselves than anything.

I simply watched, my face locked in a practiced mask of surprise, comfortably sitting in my armchair. It felt absolutely exceptional, to be Harry Potter at this moment. It was the first time I had orchestrated such event, the first time I had been sitting in a chair and watching chaos pour _from_ my hands, but not _by_ my hand. At this moment I understood why the evil people in stories like manipulating others so much, what a joy, what a sweet feeling of security and control. _Simply wonderful. I could get used to that._

"Maybe it's You-Know-Who! Maybe he's really back!" screamed a first year, clearly panicked.

That simple comment was enough to spread a fair amount of panic in the whole dormitory, which only got worse when McWhorter remarked that there were still some explosion sounds even if not nearly as loud as the first. I allowed myself a wide grin at that, the firework depot was on fire.

The prefects, Trix and Pryce, took control of the crows, moved the first and second years to their dormitory and as they came back to quiet down the other years, Sprout came into the common room and tried to explain what she could. The gist of it was, the Gryffindor dormitory had been evacuated, and there were a number of wounded students in the medical wing, but no need to panic as everything was under control. It wasn't very easy to believe as there were still a lot of booms and cracks echoing in the door behind her, but Hufflepuffs take what you give them and calmed down.

"It was an accident, not an attack." she said before leaving, to appease whatever fear and rumor had spread in our house. I felt like dancing, still bolted in my fat armchair. It was perfect, the twins would get expelled without a doubt, and there was no way to link the 'accident' to me or even Alyson. The rock golem had been obliterated by the explosion, and if they were to question Alyson, she was under a magical vow to not let out anything. _Magnificent._

_I'm pretty surprised she did so well, though._ I thought, thinking about Alyson. I had expected her to come to me for more detail on the ritual and take one more day to prepare it. It had been the first time she set up and executed a ritual, after all. _I guess it's not that hard when someone gives you everything from the blueprint to the blasting potion._

* * *

The day after, the whole school was in turmoil. The accident was of course the principal topic, but there were a lot of divergences and 'guess who's dead' vibes in the discussions. Everybody knew from a source or another that it was the Weasley twins' firework stash that had exploded at this point, but the twins were nowhere to see. Twelve Gryffindors hadn't been seen since the blast, according to the latest updated rumour.

I stood up and walked to the Slytherin table. _If it turns out someone died, I don't know how will Alyson react. I need to be able to put her under the Imperius if she panics. _I thought. She had proved herself to be capable in a lot of ways, but I was very well placed to know that sometimes, the mind can just break with no warnings, and I didn't trust her to know that.

I greeted her and took her to the Hufflepuff under the mildly annoyed glares of the Slytherin table. Even after all this time, it still irked them to see me come to their table only to pick up someone and leave, and it had become a guilty pleasure of mine.

We sat at the same place as we used to. I leaned on Louise, who was at her usual place too, and whispered in her ear:

"Imperio."

My wand hidden under the table, nobody noticed the slight grey flash, soaked by our robes. I had become proficient at performing magic in public subtly enough to not be noticed.

"So, what's up?" asked Alyson casually, herself unaware of my deed, although it was probably because of her current mental state and not of my capacities to hide dark magic.

"The whole Gryffindor tower, apparently." I winked and chuckled happily, burrowing my wand somewhere in my robes.

She chuckled nervously. _Yep, she isn't alright._

"You did a great job, but I want you to be ready..." I lowered my voice. "It's very possible a few students died in this mess. Can handle it?"

She smiled meekly and nodded. I wasn't convinced. _She like to play tough and to think she's a Slytherin through and through, but she never actually hurt anybody until now._

The hall suddenly went nearly silent. We looked around and saw why.

Dumbledore had arrived, as imposing as always, his robes a very dark blue, almost black. He made a beeline to the professor's table, watched by hundreds of eyes and exchanged a few secret words with McGonagall, Snape and Umbridge, who wasn't willing to be left out of the matter. Their faces were somber, well, McGonagall was somber. Snape was no somber than usual and Umbridge didn't change her expression neither.

Dumbledore turned to the student body and cleared his throat.

"Students of Hogwarts, a tragedy has occurred last evening as you all are aware already. The details I will not tell you until the Aurors finish their investigation, but I ask you, students of Hogwarts, to stay calm and avoid unnecessary rumors."

"Are the wounded alright?" yelled somebody from the Gryffindor table, earning an angry scold from McGonagall.

"For further inquiries on the health of your comrades, I will ask you to see Madam Pomfrey, thank you." declared Dumbledore, his eyes devoid of their liveliness. He looked older and more tired than ever. _I gave the old man a run for his money in the last years... I bet he was used to quieter days._

"I have many things to take care of and apologize for my inability to answer more of your questions. Thank you." he stated finally before walking back to the professor table and soon after leave with Snape in his wake.

Discussion exploded at our table and the others, I turned to Alyson.

"Well, someone's dead. Did you see his face when some guy asked about the wounded? It was like he aged twenty years in a second." I said with a neutral tone.

"Are you sure? He would have said it if someone died, wouldn't he?" she tried, sounding like she was talking from the bottom of a hole, with a weak voice, almost disincarnate and looking around desperatly slowly.

Having never quite experienced any kind of shock, remorse or anything else than joy after having taken a life, I couldn't exactly understand what she was going through, but she was obviously entering some sort of state. I supposed the best thing was to keep her firmly set on reality and what it enticed.

"No, I don't think so. The Aurors are working on the case and he can't let any details leak for the moment. And at any rate, it's the family's decision to announce the death or not, and how to. I'm pretty sure someone's dead." I explained. "The explosion was _massive_, for us to feel the walls shake all the way to the Hufflepuff common room."

"But _you_ gave me that fucking potion!" she hissed suddenly, her eyes now shiny and her voice strong, like she crawled out of her hole to put the blame on me, like she realized now that she couldn't deal with it.

"Oy, chill out! I'm not accusing you, I'm simply explaining that someone's probably dead." I grabbed her by the shoulder and hugged her while looking around to see if I was being watched. Zachary was watching me intently from the Gryffindor table, fury in his eyes and teeth clenched.

"We're being watched, so I just want to make sure you won't misbehave and fuck everything up. Steel yourself in advance. I need you to be strong for now."

She dropped her anger in a split second and nodded before leaning in for a kiss. I briefly wondered if it would be considered impolite to kiss while everyone else was scared for the life of their fellow students but discarded it as her tongue greeted mine. _They're used to see me doing anything at anytime, anyway. Just like when I was with Loren back in second year. _

She had needed this kiss badly apparently, and as I was scared that she'd start grinding on me right in the middle of the hall when an enhanced voice interrupted her.

"Students of Hogwarts." it had shouted suddenly. A voice everyone knew. It was Umbridge, she had walked in front of the table and unlike Dumbledore, needed to enhance her voice with magic to be heard by the student body.

Alyson swallowed hotly and removed her hand from my hair but didn't move from my lap, in bad need of human contact.

"The headmaster decided to not announce it himself but in my opinion, it is necessary for every single one of you to hear it." She made a dramatic pause and looked at the students gravely.

At that, everyone stopped talking and focused on her, eager to hear what she had to say.

"What happened yesterday was the unavoidable result of the negligent direction this school has suffered with Headmaster Dumbledore at its head." she started shamelessly, ignoring the outraged McGonagall behind her.

"I represent the Ministry, and the Ministry has enough of the terrible state this school is in. The lax rules and lack of meaningful punishments have led Hogwarts to the tragedy of yesterday. How, you ask? I will tell you."

She unrolled a roll of parchment and cleared her throat, watching everyone with a satisfied little smile.

"Mr. George Weasley and Mr. Fred Weasley, both well known and recidivist troublemakers, smuggled _illegally _in the Gryffindor dormitory number six an unknown number of _illegal _and dangerous fireworks."

She looked over the silent crowd once again, visibly proud of herself.

"It has been established that many housemates, including prefects, knew of it and never went to the authorities about it. Their disregard for school rules, common sense and safety of their housemates led to the death of the following students when the illegal and volatile material caught fire by accident."

At that, many gasps were heard. Some girls didn't wait to hear the names to cry loudly. I tightened my grip on Alyson, who was quietly watching with hard eyes, ready to hear the worst. Umbridge raised her voice an octave higher to be heard better.

"Neville Longbottom, Dean Thomas, Hyacinth Crow and ironically, Fred Weasley"

More gasps, more cries.

I looked at Alyson. She didn't say a word or move a millimeter but returned my grip. _She killed four students in a single shot... even I never went this far._ I chuckled internally. _I'm a real fucking asshole._

"The last years have been horrible but I promise you, my dear students, that things will change. Headmaster Dumbledore will take the blame for letting such a tragedy happen, and he will be replaced by someone able. Someone who will set this school back in its tracks."

She smiled and left the hall, just like that.

McGonagall and the other professors had left the hall during her speech, and no one seemed willing to stop the growing chaos in the students mass prefects included. Slytherin were delighted by the news and laughed openly while Gryffindors were outraged and, in the case of girls, crying their loss.

Zachary and Ron found their way to me, bumping students like if they were some kind of Auror Corp moving civilians aside. Hermione and a bunch of people were trying to reason with them, trotting alongside.

I shook Alyson up and prepared myself to send the Imperiused Louise to fight.

"...stop it! It was an accident, you know how they stock their stuff!" was begging a blonde girl next to Ron. They had their wands out.

"It's not him Zachary, listen to me!" yelled Hermione in my twin's ear.

"It's him, I fucking know it!" he yelled back before stopping in front of me and pointing his wand at me. The commotion had been noticed by now and people formed a circle around us. I glanced at the professor table. Nobody. Great.

"My brothers were planning to prank him all year long!" growled Ron, his wand pointed at me too. "And they're in the Order, he knew it! He knew they were dangerous to him and his precious plots!" he spat, his red and puffy eyes filled with hate.

Hermione was pulling at Zach's arm, begging for reason. "Come on, we'll find out eventually what happened, but not now!" she tried, scared.

People were shouting all around us, it was deafening. Some were telling Zach to calm down, some were shouting at me, some were cheering him on, and a good number of Slytherins seemed to cheer for me.

"What are you going to do this time?" I shouted over the crowd. "First you assault my girlfriend for no reason with that band of yours, and now you're trying to blame me for those idiot's incompetence?" I opened my arms and looked at the crowd hopefully. The crowd answered, Slytherins cheered twice as loud and my Hufflepuff housemates, shocked to hear about the assault on Alyson, forgot in which side they were meant to be.

Ron couldn't take anymore and spat a spell. A thin bright pink needle of magic erupted from his wand and whistled to me, but Louise shielded it with a standard shield. The needle bounced on the shield, creating large sparkles of purple light and then a massive flash and crisp sound of fizzling power before darting to the ceiling and disappearing in the fake open sky, probably too poor to hold its shape to the end. As an answer, Alyson blasted a thick _Stupefy_ in Ron's guts in a split second. Ron got off his feet and was safely cushioned by the crowd behind. _She's getting really good with the stunner._

"You're losing it, Zach. I understand it's hard to be you with You-Know-Who and stuff, but you're fucking insane!" I shouted in his angry face to calm everything down somehow. The spell exchange had changed his friend's behavior, Hermione was now standing with them and pointing her wand at me, but the others had stepped back. _They can't trust him anymore._ I smiled.

"Tell your sextoys to drop their wands, this is between you and me, Harry." he started calmly, taking a dueling stance.

"What's the point? Let's say you win this duel? What are you gonna do? Kill me?"

"I should, yeah!" he spat.

I looked at Hermione at his side.

"Hermione, I know you're not crazy like those two, do something." I pleaded.

To my surprise, she nodded and in a swift motion, she had stunned Zach. I was so shocked I didn't move for a few seconds. And I wasn't the only one. Hermione, however, had more charisma than what I would have thought, and in a few hand signals, she had the others take Zachary and carry him away.

"Don't think I did this for you, I still trust him, and I know you're far from innocent." she said, glaring at me. "It wouldn't be a good idea to let you two duel here, that's all."

She left the crowd, followed by a good number of mixed students, and everything calmed down, except for the Slytherins now almost chanting my name.

_That battle squad... _I thought, noticing that they weren't as numerous as they should, and that Andra wasn't part of the cortege.

_Well, this was a rather good development after all. I definitely got rid of one Weasley, I got rid of the Weasley twins threat in Hogwarts, I almost got rid of the battle squad threat and I pretty much got rid of Dumbledore._

_One stone, a flock of birds._

* * *

A soft knock on the door made me jump softly.

"Who is it?" I asked to my door. _This isn't dinner time yet._

"It's me, Harry. Tonks." answered the magically locked wooden panel.

"A minute."

I turned to the large parchment in front of me and scribbled a few words before folding it. The conversation I was having with Gregory and Zephyros on the enchanted parchment wasn't especially important, we were merely sharing our thoughts on what we expected to find on the other side, the only solid information we had being a snippet of memory from the ravaged mind of Jagdish Chanda.

I opened the door with a wave of my wand and stood up to greet the metamorphmagus, only guest of mine since Merlin knew how long.

"Didn't you hear? I'm considered an enemy of the Order, I must be pretty dangerous. Think you can handle me if I go berserk?" I snorted and presented her a seat while closing the door.

"Yeah, I heard. Zachary is really mad at you, but I'm surprised to see everyone go along with it." She commented, ignoring the seat and walking around the room.

"They're going along with it only because Zach threw the bitch fit of the century right when we came home."

She sent me a slightly apologetic smile and came round to the chair I had pushed to her.

"So, stuck in there all day?" she muttered disapprovingly.

"Well, yeah. They bring me food three times a day and I'm allowed to wander in the house when the Order isn't here. I've yet to see that happening."

She shook her head, a dark look in her eyes.

"You're a freaking prisoner, I can't believe Dumbledore - and your parents - would do that."

I shrugged. "I can. They seems to trust my insane brother a lot more than me, Dumbedore is probably even more insane, and my parents... well nothing new here."

"He isn't insane."

"Crazy, if you prefer." I offered, handing her a glass of apple juice, one of the only fluids I had in my room.

She harrumphed and finally sat down in the puffy armchair, looking right into my eyes with a frown as she took the glass.

"Harry, he's neither insane or crazy, put yourself in his shoes for a moment, he's into one hell of a pinch here with You-know-Who. And to top it all... losing Fred like that has been horrible for everyone, and I can't begin to imagine how Zachary feels, having lost four close friends..."

I let that comment linger in the air for a moment. The aftermath of this particular accident had been quite a mess, on both sides. The Order, the Weasley, and pretty much everyone around me were destroyed by the "accident", and Alyson wasn't living it well either. While she had thankfully been able to restrain herself in public, she had lashed out on me when we were alone, she didn't say it out loud but I could tell only the fact that we were indisputably accomplices and bound by a magical vow kept her from saying that she didn't want to have anything to do with me anymore. Even though, disturbingly enough, she was twice as willing to have intimate relations with me, for a reason that I couldn't quite grasp.

"Tonks, I know that. And I'm trying to take it consideration, but put yourself in _my_ shoes for a moment." I said gently, looking into her eyes.

"I do absolutely nothing wrong, and every single time something bad happens, Zachary manages to put the blame on me. I'm just a fucking Hufflepuff trying to live his life, for fuck's sake!" I shouted, kind of proud of my acting.

"Now, it's my fault they died? I didn't like them very much, it's true, but it still hurt me to hear about their death! I'm not some monster who would want something that terrible to happen! And Zachary tells me I did it? Just because we were having a fight over Ginny? Come the fuck on!"

I threw myself in my bed and focused on the ceiling. _Not bad, she will buy it._

"I'm sorry..." she started.

"Don't bother, you can't fix it, nobody can. I'll just bear with it until we're back to Hogwarts." I cut her strongly.

"If you haven't made up until summer, I ... I'll talk to James and Lily about renting some place for you." she said, a smile on her lips. "I think sending you to live on your own would please everybody, don't you think?"

I looked at her weirdly. Of course, she wouldn't know I would be gone out of their life for good by the time summer showed its nose, but it was still weird to hear her talking from her point of view.

"We'll see by then, but thank you." I let out a small chuckle.

We sat in silence for a few moments before Tonks recollected her thoughts and spoke up excitedly.

"So... want some news?" she asked with a sly smile. "I bet you're bored as all hell, locked in there all day."

I waved her to speak with a sigh. "Do tell."

"That one is a hot one, we just heard about it and we're not even sure about it but... do you remember that guy who apparated between Venezuela and Britain during last summer?"

I suddenly got very interested.

"Yeah, that guy You-Know-Who sent for some reason you couldn't imagine."

"Well, turns out he was not sent by You-Know-Who, Snape confirmed that some time ago. No, the interesting thing is that apparently, You-Know-Who and Aleksandro - the guy who got robbed - are both very interested in finding out who is this mystery man. They both assigned agents on the case and are trying to trace him back."

"And what about you? Still after him?"

"We'd love to know more about it, but if You-Know-Who didn't send him, we have bigger fairies to fry. Anyway, it seems the Ministry hadn't totally given up on the case, as we thought, and they have a few leads we didn't know about. From what I could get, they even have some visual witness from St. Mungo, the guy got his arm healed in there and obliviated the doc."

I was starting to sweat slightly, it sounded bad for me.

"So, they're almost on him?"

"We're not sure, but now You-Know-Who is on the case, so we expect something to happen soon." she concluded excitedly.

I shrugged mentally, from what she just told me, I didn't really had to worry, all I needed was a month of freedom and then, I couldn't care less about them finding out exactly who I was, I'd face them if they wanted me to, as long as Natasha was back, I could handle dying.

"So he's not with You-Know-Who, that's good news."

She shrugged.

"Except for the fact that he had a Mage Knight armor, he didn't seem any more dangerous than any mercenary. It's actually more worrying that he isn't with You-Know-Who, because that means someone unknown is planning something potentially dangerous here in Britain. You don't steal illegal dark magic ingredients to make a cake. And he stole quite the package, from what we could gather."

"You don't know before you try... how do you think the first cake was created? Experiments, my dear, experiments."

She laughed out loud.

"Well, I do hope it is for a cake, we have enough on our hands as it is."

* * *

**_An: Maybe you'll feel it, maybe not, but I tried to evolve my style somewhat in this one, for the better or the worst. You guys enjoy yourselves reading and tell me what you think if you have time. Cheers._**


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Harry Potter, Adventure, Angst